Moving On
by thearizona
Summary: What if the Archipelago stayed stuck in the Viking Era while the world outside the storm barrier moved on, never knowing about what was past the barrier. What if Hiccup and Toothless ran away and found their way through that barrier? After much time and meeting another like him, will both Hiccup and Berk let go of the past for a better future, or will they let the past define them?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everybody, welcome to my second story, but my first in the HTTYD fanfic. I am cowriting this story with a personal friend of mine, Narniaqueen1300. I hope you all enjoy it! This starts off just after Hiccup is chosen to kill the Monstrous Nightmare.**

 **Wait a minute, what story doesn't start with a disclaimer? I do not own the How to Train Your Dragon franchise, idea, or characters (however much I wish I do); they belong to Cressida Cowell and DreamWorks. I only own whatever characters I create, and the plot of the story which you are about to read.**

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Chapter 1

"Leaving. We're leaving! Let's pack it up. Looks like you and me are going on a little vacation, forever." Hiccup said as he dropped the basket full of things he would need to run away to the ground. It was then that Toothless appeared beside the young Viking and looked at the basket in confusion when Hiccup opened it to show clothing and things for Hiccup to survive with instead of the meal he had come to associate with the basket.

"Oh come on Toothless, there's no fish for you in there." Hiccup said with a slight chuckle as he watched his reptile friend burrow his head into the basket trying to find imaginary fish. Toothless suddenly jerked his head out of the basket and looked towards the entrance of the cove and started to growl slightly.

"Toothless, settle down ok. Go hide and I will deal with whoever it is and be back as soon as I can." Hiccup said as he rubbed the dragon's head in a comforting manner before leaving to address whoever was trying to enter the cove. Hiccup soon went to the entrance and looked back to make sure Toothless was hidden, which he was. Hiccup turned the hidden corner to enter the cove to find and axe pointed at his face, looks past the axe head he found the face of whoever was now pointing a weapon at his head.

"Astrid, What are you doing out here?"

"Hiccup? What are you doing out here?" They both said at pretty much the same time. And awkward sort of silence settled over the two as each side wait for the other to answer first.

"I don't know what you're hiding down there Hiccup, but I intend to find out, one way or the other." Astrid said, breaking the silence.

"I'm not hiding anything, this is where I go to think and do a little training during the day." Hiccup replied, trying to sound as confident as possible with his crush holding an axe to his face. "Now could you please remove you axe from my face?"

"I'm sure you were training with somebody down there, considering what you are wearing and that nobody just gets as good as you do." Astrid said, lowering the axe to point at his flight harness.

"There is nobody down there Astrid, I promise. This is just something I am using to try and build leg muscles by clipping weight to it. Now about the axe?" Was the smart reply for the boy.

"Then you wouldn't mind if I take a look inside there would you?" She asked as she slipped the axe back into the sheath on her back.

"No, not at all, but you can do it alone because I'm going back to the village. I have some things to think about." Hiccup said before he started walking back towards Berk, leaving Astrid to stand and decide if she really wanted to look inside. She ended up glancing inside before chasing after the retreating form of the skinny lad and following him the rest of the day to make sure he wasn't lying.

* * *

 **The next day at the Kill Ring**

The kill ring had been completely changed for the ritual that Hiccup was about to go through. Gone was the dull grey stone, replaced by banners, flags, and the whole of Berk.

"Well I can show my face in public again." Stoick said to the amassed crowd, earning a laugh from them. "If someone had told me that in a few short weeks that Hiccup would go from being, well...Hiccup, to placing first in dragon training! Well I would've tied him to a mast and shipped him off for fear he'd gone mad! And you know I'd do it too! But here we are, and nobody more surprised, or more proud than I am. Today my boy becomes a Viking. Today, he becomes one of us!" Stoick finished to a cheering crowd.

Hiccup was standing in the entrance to the ring with a slightly downtrodden look on his face. That look would only get worse once Astrid turned the corner, with every intent to talk to the boy.

"What do you want Astrid?" Hiccup asked the girl when she started to walk towards him.

"I just want to wish you good luck. And to inform you that I will find out how you got so good, and when I do I will tell the whole village and they will know how you cheated!" She sneered at him before walking back out of the entrance and into the crowd. As she was exiting, Gobber entered so he could let Hiccup into the ring.

"It's time Hiccup, knock him dead." Gobber said as he let Hiccup enter the kill ring. Everybody is hooting and hollering at him as he entered and locked eyes with his father. Stoick nods with a smile, which is only returned half way by the soon to be Viking. Hiccup walked over to the weapons rack and picked up a shield and out of everything there, a small dagger.

"I would have gone for the hammer." Stoick said to Gobber while Hiccup got ready for the battle.

"I'm ready." Hiccup said with a bit of fake confidence. The log that acted as the lock for the Monstrous Nightmare cage start to lift away with loud clanks. Once the log was far enough out, the Nightmare blasted the door open. It flew out of the cage and circled the stone ring before climbing onto the steel chain that made up the ceiling. As it circled the chain it spat fire out of the ring in a vain attempt to hit the Vikings standing outside the kill ring. After a few second it settled down enough to notice Hiccup in the ring and drop to the floor. As it advanced on Hiccup, the boy started to slowly walk back and drop his dagger and shield. The nightmare made a gesture to the helmet sitting on the boy's head. Hiccup picked it up off his head and looked at it.

"I'm not one of them." Hiccup proclaimed as he tossed the helmet to the ground. The Nightmare seemed a bit confused due to this young Viking sent in to kill him dropping everything and smelling like a night fury, but seemed to understand that Hiccup was no threat and so lost its threatening demeanor.

"Stop the fight." Stoick said as if in a daze.

"No! You need to see this; they aren't what we think they are." Hiccup said as he held his hand out for the Nightmare, as he had done for Toothless. Hiccups hand and the Nightmares snout where almost touching when Stoick got up from his throne chair.

"I said, Stop The Fight!" Stoick shouted as he pounded his war hammer into the steel bars at the base of the kill rings roof, bending them. The resulting vibrations made the dragon in the kill ring with Hiccup go berserk and instead of letting Hiccup's hand rest on his nose, he tried to bite it off instead. Hiccup let out a scream as he ran through the dragon's blind spot and grabbed the shield that he had dropped earlier. As soon as Stoick had seen his son in danger he started to run towards the gate to protect him. Astrid also ran at the gate and because she was much closer to the gate so she made it there first. Her reason for wanting into the ring was to show everybody how much of a cheat Hiccup was; trying to befriend dragons, what a crazy idea.

The gate was shut, yet she used an axe to wedge it open enough for her to slip under it. Hiccup was still running around the ring while being chased by the Monstrous Nightmare. Astrid went to the weapons rack, which the dragon had smashed in its pursuit of Hiccup. She picked up a decent sized hammer for herself and threw it at the nightmare, striking it in the head. This turned its attention to her. Instead of charging right at her, it started to advance slowly, staring at her, looking for any weaknesses or flaws in the stance. Astrid stood in a near perfect position and waited for the nightmare to come to her. She knew that most often the person whom started the attack, lost the attack.

A few seconds before the nightmare would have lunged, Stoick threw open the gate and ordered them out of the cage. Hiccup ran right behind Astrid towards the entrance, only to be separated by a blast of the Nightmares napalm-like fire. The Nightmare was still curious about why this Viking youngling smelled of night fury, had not attacked earlier, and still wasn't attacking. Hiccup held his shield in front of himself to protect himself from anything the Nightmare might do, except for trap him under its razor sharp claws, which it did; but before said dragon could do anything else, a shrill whistle was heard over the wind.

"Night Fury, Get Down!" Somebody shouted as Toothless blasted his way into the kill ring. Toothless immediately went after the nightmare to get him away from Hiccup, and they started to wrestle. People started to murmur as it became clear that Hiccup was being protected from the Nightmare by the Night Fury. The Nightmare eventually gave up as it was clearly a losing fight, and started to work his way back towards his cage. With the dragons no longer fighting, most of the men in the crowds jumped into the ring to be the one to capture the Night Fury.

"Toothless go, get out of here." Hiccup said while trying to push his friend out of the kill ring. Toothless did slowly start to walk towards the entrance, until he spotted Stoick grab a weapon of the wall and charge into the ring. Toothless knew of everything Hiccup had been through as the young man loved to talk. Hiccup tried to stop his dragon, but Toothless just wanted his friend's life to be good one, charged after Stoick and tackled him. Hiccup followed close behind yelling for Toothless to stop his attack. The duo came to a stop with Toothless on top and readying a plasma blast.

"NO!" Hiccup shout at Toothless, cause the dragon to stop and swallow the blast and look at him with huge puppy dog eyes. Before Hiccup could do anything though, Spitelout jumped at Toothless, only to be knocked away by the dragon's tail. Seeing that it was too dangerous to stay there, Toothless tossed Hiccup onto his back and sprinted out of the kill ring and back towards the cove and Hiccups basket of things from the day before.

"You're not one of us, you not my son!" The pair heard Stoick shout at them as they started to fly back towards the cove now that Hiccup had gotten firmly into the saddle. Hiccup hung his head in defeat after hearing that and Toothless could only make reassuring coo's while they were flying but he promised to himself that he would never again leave Hiccup's side.

* * *

 **Well here is chapter on of "Moving On". Yes I know I am still working on "Brothers in Arms", but I am cowriting this and this is number two in my writing list until BIA is over, which it is nearing the end. Back to this story, what do you guys think? The idea of Hiccup leaving during the final match is something I have only seen two or three times. But after this it is going in a direction I have never seen in any other HTTYD story take, so I hope you enjoy!**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	2. Chapter 2

**Moving On Chapter 2**

* * *

As Hiccup flew through the evening air on Toothless' back, he couldn't help but hear his father's words replay in his mind over and over. _You're not one of us! You're not my son!_ Hiccup cringed. By the gods, why couldn't he just stop hearing that phrase in his mind? It only made him feel worse.

Gripping Toothless, Hiccup realized that maybe his father was right. He didn't belong in Berk. And how could he? His whole life he had been taught that dragons were evil, forces to be reckoned with. Beasts to be destroyed. And here he was, riding one who had saved him. Hiccup would have almost laughed at the ridiculous situation he was in if it wasn't real. But it was…and his father's words were very much real.

Where would he and Toothless go now? Hiccup looked around him in all directions, trying to see what lay beneath the clouds. He could see nothing but the vast, blue sea. He had never ridden out this far from home before, and even though he didn't want to admit it, even to himself, he felt they might be lost.

Just at that moment, the sun began to creep beneath the clouds, hiding itself from view for the night. A cold wind whipped in Hiccup's face, and Toothless ducked down a bit from the sudden turbulence.

"Easy there, boy," Hiccup gave Toothless a gentle pat on his scaly skin as he regained his composure. They would have to find a landing soon for the night. It had been hours, and Hiccup could tell that Toothless was getting weary. Come to mention it, he could barely keep his eyes open himself.

Suddenly Hiccup spotted something swoop down in front of him. It caught him off guard for a second, and he almost fell off, but Toothless maneuvered in just the right way to save him. Could that have maybe been a bird? Because if it was there must be…

"Land! Straight ahead!" Hiccup shouted into the wind. Never had he been so relieved.

Toothless saw where he meant, and let out a happy growl. Shifting his wings just slightly to the right, the Night Fury began his descent downwards to the small island that was approaching them faster and faster. Trees seemed to blur by Hiccup as they came closer to the ground. With a loud thud, the two landed, panting heavily as they did so.

Out of breath, Hiccup lay on his back in the tall grass. "We made it, Toothless. We did it," He was still shaky from the many hours of flying.

The island they had landed on appeared to be uninhabited, as there were no signs of civilization anywhere. The landscape was dense with trees, except for the one small clearing in which the two had landed. The wind still blew, but not as hard down here on the ground as it had been in the sky.

Hiccup's stomach began to rumble, as he just realized how long it had been since he'd eaten. Across from him, Toothless gave him a puzzled expression. "What's the matter?" Hiccup asked him as his stomach rumbled again, louder this time.

As soon as he heard it, Toothless immediately sat up, alert. He looked around promptly in all directions, sniffing the air as he did so. Hiccup was confused, then he understood and laughed.

"That's just me Toothless! Nothing to be concerned about," He tried not to laugh too hard but he couldn't help a small chuckle at the sight of his new friend trying to protect him from the "predatorial noise". Toothless simply turned away and sat down again, offended.

"Ah, I'm sorry," Hiccup said as he swung his satchel off his back. Unbuttoning it, he pulled out the few items that he had packed in it. Now that he thought of it, he should have brought much more than he did. But who would have known that he'd be gone this long?

Toothless sniffed the air again.

"You're hungry too, aren't you buddy?" Hiccup eyed the contents of his satchel. They might be enough to sustain him for a few more days, but not any longer, and certainly not if he shared them with a dragon.

"Well, you've done more for me than anyone ever has, so…you can have them." Hiccup offered him a roasted fish. "I'll just eat a…a…" At that moment, a plump red apple fell down and plunked Hiccup on the head. "Ow!"

He rubbed his head. "I'll just eat this." Toothless attempted to smile.

* * *

About an hour or so later, Hiccup and Toothless decided it was time to settle in for the night. Situating himself in the tall, lush grass a few feet from Toothless, Hiccup closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. The only sounds that could be heard were that of the crickets chirping, and the light waves washing onto the shore a little ways away.

"It's been quite a day, hasn't it?" Hiccup said under his breath, yawning. "Who would've thought that we'd be all the way out here…alone…" He sighed again, this time sitting up and drawing his knees to his chest. He gazed up at the stars that seemed so far away, just like his home. "I wonder if they even care that I'm gone." He said quietly, half to himself.

Behind him, Hiccup felt a nudge on his back as Toothless crowded up beside him. Hiccup turned around. "Toothless," He stifled a small laugh, but it quickly faded out.

Had his father really meant what he said? Was Hiccup never to be allowed to return to Berk again? Even though he had always felt like the outcast, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of loneliness at the thought of never being able to see his homeland. It was all he had ever known, as terrible as it had been at times. What would the world be like out there for him now?

A light rain began to fall, and Hiccup grunted. _Why now?_

Seeing the storm that was beginning, Toothless immediately put his wing up to shield Hiccup from the rain. Hiccup smiled, and curled up beneath his protective barrier. At least, even if he had nothing else in the world, he had Toothless. And tomorrow the two of them would keep going south. There had to be some sort of life out there for them…

* * *

Dawn came early, and Hiccup blinked as the bright sun reflecting on the waves blinded his eyes. He rolled over and moaned, not wanting to get up yet. But a quick shove from Toothless made him stand to his feet.

"Ok, ok, sheesh," he said as he yawned. They needed to continue with their journey, but first, he would scour the island and see what food he could find before moving on.

Stretching, Hiccup glanced around him. Their best bet would probably be over in that cluster of trees over there.

"C'mon Toothless," He said, turning to walk away. Toothless followed closely behind him.

The two walked along for a little ways deeper and deeper into the forest until Toothless suddenly stopped, making a grunting sound.

"What is it, boy?" Hiccup asked, stopping. Suddenly he heard the noise that his dragon had, the faint sound of water flowing in the distance. Along with it, there was the faintest humming sound, almost as if the water was singing its own tune.

"Let's go check it out."

As the two approached, they were awestruck by the magnificent sight that beheld them. Before them was a massive waterfall that flowed with every color in the rainbow: reds, yellows, greens, blues, and purples all flowed together in unison, creating something far more glorious than Hiccup had ever seen in his life. He couldn't help a small gasp upon seeing it.

"Wow…"

Toothless did not hesitate in immediately walking straight up to the pool of water it flowed into and taking a drink.

"No, wait Toothless! We don't know what's in there. It could be…well…"

As soon as Toothless drank though, he smiled happily and proceeded to jump into the pool, splashing the water up as he did so. Looking up, Hiccup noticed something that he hadn't before, and that was that there appeared to be an opening behind the waterfall.

"Wait a minute..." He said, walking around so he could get a clearer view. Sure enough there was a large dark cave hiding behind. Curiosity got the better of him, and Hiccup decided to step through the falls. "You coming Toothless?"

Toothless was soon at his heels, and they both stepped into the unknown mysterious place.

As soon as he stepped in, Hiccup immediately noticed that the place was completely silent, save the faint humming he had heard before. But now he noticed that the sound he heard hadn't been the waterfall but in fact it was coming from overhead, a ways down the tunnel of the cave. All around them hung long pointed crystals if all colors and sizes. There was nothing like this, even in Berk.

After trekking down the hall, one sight in particular caught Hiccup's eyes. There lying before them was a pedestal of some sort and on top of it, a small sliver sat alone. As he got closer Hiccup noticed that the song got louder and that it must be coming from the stone sliver. Curious, Hiccup picked it up.

"Whoa." As soon as he touched it, Hiccup was met with the strangest sensation of power and magic only for a brief second, and then he was overcome with something else entirely that he never expected. All of a sudden he heard a new voice echo through the cave.

" **Hiccup, what's the matter?** "

Hiccup jumped nearly three feet high. "Who was that?"

" **Me** ," The voice said again.

Hiccup whipped around to face Toothless. "Toothless, is that…"

" **Yes, it's me. I've been talking to you the whole time, you just haven't been listening.** "

"But..I…you…"

Toothless laughed. " **You're funny Hiccup. But come on, it's time we get going from here. Who knows what else is in this strange place** ,"

Hiccup felt faint. "I just can't believe…" He rubbed his temples. "Maybe I'm in some kind of a dream or something."

Toothless nudged him. " **You're not dreaming. I can attest to that. But let's go, I'm hungry**."

Dazed, Hiccup grabbed the stone sliver and replied, "Yes, yes. Let's go. Uh, which way was the exit again?"

" **Over here, follow me.** " As Toothless led Hiccup out, he couldn't help a small chuckle at his human friend.

Once the two were out of the clearing, Hiccup gathered the necessary supplies and food, but only what he knew would not weigh Toothless down while he was flying. As for the stone sliver he had found, he took a small burlap string from his satchel and strung it on it and put it around his neck for safekeeping.

Toothless and Hiccup flew up, the island they had been on getting smaller and smaller the higher they went. Ahead of him, Hiccup couldn't make out any other sign of life beyond what they had already come from. But all of a sudden, Hiccup felt a gust of wind knock him to the side, and he nearly fell off. He grasped the rope he was holding onto with all his might, his body knocking against Toothless' side as he struggled to get back on.

"Toothless! Slow down!" He shouted, pulling tightly. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not pull himself back on. The winds were stronger now, and Hiccup realized they were going in circles. Toothless had now lost all control, and he was being spun around just as Hiccup was.

" **Hang on, Hiccup!** " He yelled in a panic. The tornado cloud around them circled, going faster and stronger, until suddenly there was silence.

* * *

 **Hey guys, its Thearizona. How did you like this chapter? This was written by Narniaqueen1300 and she is not as much of a fan of AN as I am, so here I am. so a huge shout out and thanks to UnknownBlackHand for letting me use the Dragonstone in this story. if you haven't read any of his storys, I suggest you do, starting with the Dragonstone trilogy.**

 **Thank you for the story favorite Supreme Commander, TheDoctor1998, DracoDraconis55, and The Night Maid.**

 **Thank you for the story follow Supreme Commander, Dracodraconis 55, Kaida Fury, Kenraali, Sousuke Tenki, and NightsAnger.**

 **And a final thank you for everybody who has reviewed! Y'all know who you are.**


	3. Chapter 3

**When hiccup is the 'focus' of the scene, here is what the writing style will be:**

" **Bold":** Dragonese

" _Italics":_ English

"Normal": Norse

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Chapter 3

The two radar operators had been sitting and staring at the same screens for the past few hours. So far all they had seen was a few stray airliners at the far edges of the radar station's range, but they were of no concern as their IFF transponders registered them as airliners.

"Hey Jack, how much time do we have left staring at these screens?"

"William, I told you five minutes ago that we still have about an hour left on duty." The more senior of the two replied.

"Why are we even watching these screens? It's not like the Soviets are going to attack, considering their army is knee deep in sand right now." William, being just a simple PFC, asked.

"One of their army's yes, but they have multiple army's on each side of the nation." Jack replied, expecting a quick response from his friend. When he didn't reply, Jack looked over at him to see if he was fine to find him staring deeply at the radar screen.

"Hey William, everything ok over there?" He asked, slightly startling the man.

"Ah, oh um you um, you might want to um, come take a look at this." Was the reply Jack got as William pointed at his screen. Jack got up from his station to go look at what William was seeing at his station. When he got there and looked at where William was pointed at on his screen, he was also confused.

"What do you think that is?" William asked once Jack got over there. There was a small blip, it almost didn't register on the radar screen, that had no IFF transponder.

"I don't know," Jack answered as he looked over a sheet of paper, "there aren't any scheduled flights that far out north."

"Then we have an unidentified bogey flying our way?"

"Yup, I'm going to call it in." Jack answered as he picked up the phone to call in the bogey.

Two F-15C's soared through the air towards the odd radar blip.

"Control, this is flight lead. Picking up the boggy on radar." The first pilot radioed back to the control room back at base.

"Roger that flight lead, proceed with mission." The response came over the radio.

"So what do you think it is?" The wingman, call sign Vulture, asked.

"I don't know," flight lead, call sign Machine, replied, "It could be anything from a loose weather balloon to a Cessna with a broken transponder to a new Russian stealth fighter."

"Let's just hope it's a weather balloon or a Cessna instead of a Russian. So how do you want to do this?" Vulture asked.

"They are going low and slow so I say let's take a medium speed pass to identify and then pull alongside and escort it back out to international airspace or to an airfield." Was the reply from Machine.

"Roger that." Vulture replied as they kept flying towards the boggy. The rest of the flight went in silence as they got closer and closer to the relatively slow moving radar blip. As they got closer, the boggy increased its speed slightly, but kept the same heading. The two fighters arrived at the location of the boggy and dropped out of the cloud cover they had been above the whole way. As they did a pass at around 200 knots, or 230 miles per hour, they both saw something they were not prepared for.

"Did I just see what I think I saw?" Vulture asked over the radio.

"Well if you saw a black dragon with a person on its back, then I would say so." Machine replied.

"So how do we deal with this?"

"We get them to land and call in ground units. Lets pull up beside them and pace 'em, then you call it in and I will work on getting them to land cause I serious doubt they have a radio." Machine answered.

"Roger that flight lead." Vulture said as they maneuvered to pull alongside the odd pair.

"Toothless, we need to find a place to land." Hiccup said to his dragon friend as they had been flying for a few hours.

" **Why is that Hiccup? I could fly for several more hours**." Toothless responded. The fact that Hiccup could now understand Toothless whenever he had the sliver of that weird gem on him still slightly freckled him out, even though they found it on the island they stopped at before passing through the storm barrier.

"You may be able to bud, but I can't. I wish I could, but I need to be on the ground to rest every now and again." Was Hiccups quick reply.

" **I understand, I will try to find some land as quickly as possible**." Replied the great flying reptile that Hiccup sat atop. Toothless speed up so that his human would be able to rest, and he was also slightly tired as well. Toothless's ear flaps then perked up as if he had heard something.

"What is it Toothless?" Hiccup asked as he noticed Toothless's ear flaps come up.

" **I hear something, it sounds like a rumble**." Toothless told Hiccup as he had the better hearing.

"I can start to hear it as well; what do you think it is?" Hiccup asked as the rumbling sound got louder and louder. Before Toothless could respond, two very large metal birds came flying out of the clouds and blew past the two.

"What in Thors name was that?" Hiccup yelled as the two contraptions went by and turned around.

" **I don't know, but whatever they are, they are coming back around**." Toothless replied as he watched the two fake dragons come and pull up next to them. Once they did, Toothless started to speed away from them, hoping to outrun the odd flying things.

"Toothless, there are men inside of those things and I think they want us to land." Hiccup said after a few minutes of staring and trying to understanding what the person in one of the loud metal flying contraptions.

" **What do we have to worry about? They don't seem to be a threat**." Toothless replied.

"I think we should follow what they say. I mean, we are in new and undiscovered territory and they are much more advanced than anything I have ever seen before." Hiccup told Toothless, who grunted in annoyance before angling down to land on a shore line that had just appeared. The pair landed on the beach and the two flying things started to circle overhead.

" **Hiccup, why are we still here? Clearly they are not going to land and talk with us.** " Toothless said after they had been waiting on the beach for a few minutes. Right after he said that, a new noise was heard. They both looked around for the source or the new noise when Hiccup spotted the source.

"Toothless, over there," he said while pointing at the source of the noise, "it looks like two more flying contraptions."

" **That is right, except these are suspended in the air differently than the ones we first discovered.** " Toothless told hiccup as he had the better eyesight of the two. Before hiccup could say anything, they were upon them and started to land on the ground, blowing up a large amount of dirt and sand. People in strange clothing with what they could only presume was weapons, jumped out of the crafts. Once they had all gotten out, the odd flying things lifted back off and started to circle just as the first pair of strange flying things had.

" **Hiccup, get behind me.** " Toothless said to Hiccup, even though he was already pushing the boy behind him and curling his tail around him protectively. Toothless got a plasma blast ready and Hiccup pulled a dagger out of a sheath on his belt.

" _Put the knife down!_ " One of them shouted at Hiccup, but it was in a language he had never heard before so he did not know what was being said. The group of men had half-way surrounded the pair and had their weapons pointed at the pair. They started to slowly advance on the pair, but stopped when Toothless growled at them.

"Toothless, let's see if we can get out of here." Hiccup said to Toothless. Hiccup then tried to get onto Toothless's back but the yelling from the strange men, whom Hiccup had started to think of as warriors, stopped them. After that, everybody just seemed to stay where they were as an odd sort of truce was exchanged; nobody moves and tries to do anything and nobody gets hurt. After a tense thirty seconds, the sound of a third of the hovering crafts was heard just before it came into sight. It was a much smaller craft than the others and only dropped one man off, instead of the group of six as the others had, and stayed on the ground instead of taking off.

" _Everybody stand down, that's an order."_ The new comer told the others, who then lowered their weapons and the new comer walked forwards. Toothless growled at him, so he stopped walking and then did something unexpected. The man was an oddity for Hiccup as the man's dark skin was something Hiccup had never seen before.

"It's ok, I don't want to hurt you or your rider." He said in Norse instead of the odd language he had spoken with the others in. This got Hiccups attention as he didn't expect to hear the man speaking in a language he could understand. Toothless on the other hand, seemed to completely trust the man as he stopped his growling and stood up.

"Who are you and how do you know my language?" Hiccup asked, slightly unnerved at how quickly Toothless trusted the man.

"My name is Benjamin Underson, I'm a Colonel in the United States Air Force and I was taught your language, Norse, by another person who is very similar to you. I have a question for you though." The now named Colonel Underson said.

"I have a few of my own to ask, like what's the United States Air Force?" Hiccup asked, still not in a very trusting mood.

" **I say we should trust him."** Toothless said as he heard the way Hiccup was talking to the Colonel.

"Fine, I will try it," Hiccup replied before turning back to face the man, "if he gets these men to back away."

" _Give us some room."_ The colonel said to the men around them, and after some grumbling they complied.

"The United States Air Force is the branch of the US military tasked with all thing pertaining to the air. Now I'm sure you have much more questions and I will answer them, and much more, once we arrive at the base I am in command of." Benjamin told Hiccup, who safe to say was very confused at that time.

" **Let's go Hiccup, how bad could it be?"** Toothless said after waiting about thirty seconds for Hiccup to think about it.

"Fine, but are you going to be like this all the time?" Hiccup asked.

" **Perhaps**." Toothless slyly replied.

"You overgrown lizard." Hiccup silently said before receiving a tail to the back of the head.

"So you will come?" The colonel asked.

"Yes, we will come to your base and see what you have to say." Hiccup replied.

"Wonderful! I'm going to get back into that helicopter and then you can follow us back to base." Benjamin said before turning around and walking to the helicopter.

* * *

 **I bet you didn't see that coming! So who do you think this other person is and how does the Colonel know what a Night Fury is? Any guesses on who he is? Well you will all get to see next chapter! So who caught my hidden references? I expect at least one person to get them. Thank you to the core of justice for the OC that became the colonel. And now onto the new favorite/follower thanks! Thanks TidePoolAngel, Invisman, Andersfibi, DrabbitDragonLord, The Crimson Commando, and the core of justice for giving the story either a favorite or a follow.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is the next chapter by Narniaqueen1300. She still didn't want to write an AN, so that's me at the bottom. The speech explanation I gave last chapter is still in effect. you know what, its always in effect till latter on in the story.**

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Moving On Chapter 4

Ragnar glanced up from sharpening his knife through the window of the building he was in. A crowd of about twenty people or so were entering the premises. They were all surrounding…something. Ragnar stood to get a closer look. A boy? And a dragon? The boy looked to be about his age, 17 or so. But how in the world had he arrived here?

Distant memories of Ragnar's past sprung to his mind. The Archipelago his childhood, his family…No, he didn't want to go there. He must focus on his task at hand: to find out who the newcomers were, and what business they had. The sound of footsteps entering the room alerted Ragnar of company, and he turned around.

" _Ragnar, the Colonel has requested that you be the one to show the new recruit around, and put his dragon in the stables_ ," His direct, monotonous voice said.

Ragnar gave a quick nod. " _Of course_." Perhaps the answers to his questions would come sooner than expected. The group of twenty that was with Hiccup dispersed, leaving him and Toothless alone with only two people standing beside them. Squinting his eyes through the sunlight, Hiccup tried to make sense of the place that they were. He had never seen anything like it in his life, and he was awestruck by how vastly different it was from his homeland. Behind him, Toothless shuddered lightly, unsure of the place as well.

" **Hiccup, this is not right. We need to get out of here,** " He said softly.

"I don't think there is a way out, buddy. Not with all these…fences and things. At least, I think they are fences," He said as he looked around. He was beginning to have second thoughts about coming as well now. At that moment, a blonde haired young man came walking down the steps that led into the main building. He wore a grey, sharp looking uniform and appeared to be around Hiccup's own age, maybe a little older. Perhaps it was just the way he carried himself that made him appear so though, Hiccup concluded as he got closer.

Upon seeing the newcomer in such close proximity to his human, Toothless grunted and attempted to shield Hiccup from him. However, it was a rather impossible feat, as two guards stood beside Hiccup in front of the dragon.

One of the guards spoke up when the young man approached them. " _You can take it from here?_ "

" _Yes. You are relieved of your duties for now. I will see that the boy is properly accommodated, upon the Colonel's orders._ " He spoke with a flat voice, and the guards left to go inside.

Once he was alone with Hiccup and Toothless, he held out his hand. "My name is Ragnar, and I will be your guide."

Hiccup looked up, surprised. How did he know his language? As he shook his hand, he noticed that it was stiff and cold, much like his eyes. Why, he couldn't fathom.

"Hiccup, and this is Toothless." Hiccup replied.

Releasing his hand, Ragnar nodded slightly to the right. "Come on," He said as he started to walk away. Having no choice other than to obey, Hiccup followed. Upon getting close to the boy, Ragnar had no doubt in his mind that he was indeed from the Archipelago. Every inch of him spoke of it, from his attire, to his language. And if that wasn't enough, the dragon was an obvious giveaway. A Night Fury, the same kind as his own dragon.

As Ragnar wove through the different pathways throughout the base, stopping every so often to point out the various locations to the guests, he couldn't seem to shake off the nagging feeling of nostalgia that overwhelmed and distracted him. He was having an easier time adjusting to Toothless rather than Hiccup.

The three then approached a long, narrower building more to the side of the camp. Ragnar stopped, and beckoned Hiccup to follow him through the door. As Hiccup stepped forward, he heard Toothless give a grunt of frustration. Of course, that was all Ragnar heard, but having the stone, Hiccup heard his words.

" **Well, that's rich, Hiccup. Leaving me behind in a foreign place; I see how it is** _,_ " He complained, shifting.

Hiccup gave him a reassuring pat. "I'll be right out, boy. Besides, you wouldn't fit through the door," He pointed out. Grudgingly, Toothless consented.

As Hiccup followed Ragnar inside, he tried to take in his new surroundings that were so vastly different than anything in Berk. Continuing to walk forward, Ragnar spoke.

"The Colonel has requested that I show you to your quarters. You will be bunking with me, as there are no other available rooms currently."

Hiccup furrowed his brow. "Wait, I am staying here? Why would—"

"I don't know. That is simply what the Colonel told, so I am merely obeying orders."

They rounded the corner of a hallway, and came to a door. Ragnar opened it, and inside was a large room divided into about four sections, with two small beds per section. The beds were unlike anything Hiccup had seen before. In contrast to Berk's vibrant colors and attention to detail, this place was sterile and plain. No decorations as far as Hiccup could see, and each room was the same in appearance, save a few personal belongings here and there. There were two beds, two dressers, and one shared side table per segment. They were actually very nice rooms, but still very dull.

"This is section four. We will be staying in room 4B," Ragnar said, leading the way. "You can put your belongings away in there," He pointed to the dresser.

Ragnar watched as the boy stumbled to swing his satchel off his shoulder and open the drawer. He remembered back to the time, years ago, when all of this was new to him as well. As Hiccup bent down to put his bag away, Ragnar couldn't help but notice a small shimmer beneath his shirt. If his suspicions were correct, this boy somehow possessed one of the very rare dragonstones. Now was not the time to solve that mystery though. Glancing at his watch, he said, "Come on. Diner starts soon, and I still have one more place to show you. But before we leave," He paused and opened the bottom drawer of the dresser. "Put this on. You won't get as many questions tonight if you do." He pulled out a grayish green suit, marked with the base's symbol on the left sleeve and the flag on the right sleeve.

Hiccup arched an eyebrow at the peculiar clothing. "Oh, its ok, I think I'll just wear my own—"

"Put it on, I'll be waiting outside for you." Ragnar said, turning to leave.

After Hiccup had changed and put his own clothing away, he stumbled out the door feeling rather awkward in his new attire. It just didn't feel quite right. Maybe it was the scratchiness of the fabric? Or the fact that he knew he simply didn't belong in such a place? Probably both.

Ragnar gave a small nod upon seeing him, and proceeded to exit out the building the way they came. Hiccup followed clumsily, still trying to get the feel for his suit.

When they walked outside, Toothless backed away slowly and cautiously upon seeing Hiccup. "What's the matter, boy?

Toothless gave a sniff in Hiccup's direction and looked confused. Hiccup quickly reassured him. "It's me buddy, I promise." When Toothless cocked his head sideways, Hiccup heard his voice, " **Well, I don't particularly care for your new attire Hiccup,** "

Hiccup laughed. "I know, I don't like it either."

Ragnar couldn't help a small smile at seeing the boy's close relationship he had with his dragon. It was much like his own he had with his. Although, no one in this base could really comprehend it; it was a special bond that only dragon riders understood.

Ragnar led the way to the back of the camp, and soon before them was another building, though far larger than the one they had previously been at. Once inside, Ragnar went through several doors, all large enough for a dragon, Hiccup noted, until he came to a elevator. The three went inside and sunk lower and lower through the different levels. Once they were about six or so levels down, the elevator stopped with a small thud, and the metal doors opened. Hiccup stifled a gasp at what lay in front of them.

A massive room, probably three times the size of the building itself, was covered in foliage, fountains and trees. It was a sight to behold, and was no doubt a secret chamber known only by a few. But what caught Hiccup's eye the most was movement from the back corner. Two greenish eyes peered out from behind a bush, and slowly a great creature emerged. The further it stepped out, the more familiar the beast looked. Then Hiccup realized what it was.

"By the gods, another Night Fury!" He exclaimed. How had there come to be another dragon, let alone this rare and beautiful species, here of all places?

Ragnar perked up a little as he beckoned the dragon over to them. It listened without hesitation, and gracefully walked forward, it's head high in the air.

"Hiccup, Toothless, this is Wraith," Ragnar said, giving his dragon a tender scratch under his chin.

Hiccup watched as Toothless peered curiously at the new member of their party. After several brief seconds of looking him over, Toothless wasted no time in playfully rolling over in front of Wraith, attempting to make friends. Wraith sat tall, gazing rather awkwardly at him, his brow lifted inquisitively. He was not accustomed to such foolishness.

However despite Wraith's initial suspicions, he soon joined Toothless and nuzzled his face. But being the more reserved of the two, much like his human, Wraith refrained from the rolling on the ground bit.

Ragnar spoke, watching the dragons. "This is where the dragons will stay."

Hiccup looked around, still in awe of the beautiful place surrounding them. It was so contrasted in appearance to everything else he had seen so far in this base that he had to ask.

"How is it that this place is so…different? It truly is magnificent, the perfect habitat for a dragon."

Ragnar stood a little straighter. "Well, when I'm not busy I spend a lot of time down here. I brought most of this in myself actually," he continued. "When we first arrived, there was nothing but concrete and walls, as we are underground."

Toothless and Wraith continued to play, obviously delighted by each other's company, and happy to have a friend to relate to.

Ragnar faced them. "You two can stay here until after dinner. We'll be back by then to visit." To Hiccup, he said, "Come on. We'll be late, and the general does not tolerate tardiness."

As the boys exited, leaving their dragons to further get to know each other, it was clear that the boy's own friendship was going to take a lot longer to develop than their reptile friends'. As a matter of fact, you couldn't have gotten two people who were more different than Hiccup and Ragnar.

* * *

 **Here is chapter 4, hope you all found this interesting. So who saw that coming? DracoDraconis55 had an interesting theory if you all want to look at the reviews to see it. well onto the thank you's.**

 **Thank you crazed ragdoll, movielover48, Niki90IT, 3, GreenBlueCat, orca3553, tytus931, itzelmelodia, and KieranG6299 for the favorite/follow of this story and itzelmelodia, tytus931, crazed ragdoll for the favorite of me personally. You people are amazing! Well, I guess until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5 by Narniaqueen1300.**

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The large dining hall was crowded with approximately 200 people, all dressed the same, or similar to Hiccup. In addition to Ragnar, Hiccup noted that there were a few other boys that looked to be around their own age, but most were older. All in training, as Hiccup guessed by their uniforms.

When he first sat down, Hiccup became aware of several glances he got from across the room. But he saw nothing in them but the curiosity of a new face amongst the crowd. These people didn't guess where he was from, or if they did, for the most part they didn't say anything. Hiccup could not even understand the strange language that everyone seemed to use here.

As he attempted to eat his food, (which was quite different than anything he had tasted before), Hiccup felt a sudden loneliness because Toothless wasn't there with him. How long had it been since they'd been separated like this? A sharp pang struck his chest and he swallowed his food thickly.

Beside him, Ragnar approached, setting his tray down on the table. "You ok?" He asked Hiccup, stiffly and awkwardly, sitting down.

Hiccup drank a gulp of water. "Sure. Just, uh, homesick I guess," he said softly.

Ragnar straightened, not quite sure what to say. "Your training will begin tomorrow morning."

"My training?"

"Yes. Along with some of those guys over there," he nodded to the right. "They all just arrived a little before you did."

Hiccup followed his glance and saw the group of boys that Ragnar had referred to. They were anywhere from 18-22, but didn't look like the friendliest sort. One of them shot a death star at Hiccup when he saw him staring in their direction.

"I see," said Hiccup quietly. Turning to Ragnar, he continued. "And where will you be?"

"I will be assisting the colonel in training you."

"You've already completed the training then?" Hiccup asked, a slight frown on his face. As opposite as Ragnar was from himself, Hiccup still would have preferred having someone he knew a little out there on the field with him.

"Yes, I completed it when I first arrived here, three years ago." Ragnar glanced again at the lot of new boys in the corner. They were tough, but they could be broken. Hiccup though…Ragnar wondered what the colonel ever saw in the scrawny lad. From a physical standpoint, everything about him was wrong: his legs were too thin, his stature too small, and his arms too weak. He supposed that all of that could change with time, however the one thing that might not was Hiccup's obvious mindset: he didn't want to be here. Quite contrasted from the other young men that surrounded them now, who had willingly signed up for the program, Hiccup sat aloof, and distant, resenting even the very food on his plate. Ragnar knew he was merely buying his time until he could find some way to escape or get out of here. Maybe that was what the colonel had seen in him beyond his physical characteristics: a strong, independent spirit. Only time would tell.

But for now, it was Ragnar's mission to see that the boy was properly cared for and trained. After supper, he would take him to visit the dragons again. Perhaps that would help him adapt better to the situation.

As if Hiccup had read his thoughts, he said, "How do you suppose the dragons are faring?"

Ragnar drank some water. "Fine, I suppose. We will go visit them before bedtime."

Hiccup seemed to perk up a little at this news. "Great!"

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Once supper was over, the two boys made their way outside. The sun had set quickly, and a grayish mist seemed to loom over the entire base. Some storm clouds brewed overhead. Ragnar led them across the path that would lead them to the dragons' building.

Nary a word was said as they made their way down through the various levels on the elevator, eventually reaching the base floor. Ragnar's clenched jaw seemed to relax a bit as they exited, Hiccup noticed.

Upon their entrance, Toothless and Wraith immediately stood up from where they were laying down and rushed towards them. Toothless, however, was a little more hasty in his endeavor than Wraith, and nearly tripped over himself.

"Aw, hi old bud!" Hiccup said as he laughed and Toothless licked his face. Wraith approached Ragnar with much more eloquence, however he was just as happy to see him.

"Hello, Wraith." Ragnar half-smiled and his dragon nudged his face.

Hiccup rubbed Toothless' chin. "How've you been, you big baby boo? You getting along well with your new friend?" Toothless fluttered his wings happily. Wraith cocked his head sideways. He had grown quite fond of his new reptile friend.

Ragnar walked over to a small boulder in the corner that he had brought in a long time ago and sat down. Wraith laid beside him on the ground, curling up.

Hiccup and Toothless perched themselves on the ground as well, across from them. Wanting to break the awkward silence, Hiccup spoke up.

"So, training tomorrow eh? What is it like?" He asked, leaning against Toothless.

Much in contrast to Hiccup's relaxed demeanor, Ragnar sat up straight, tense.

"Hard. Well, they won't start you off hard. They'll give you the easy stuff first, and that's to hook you in so you'll stay. Most men would desert within the first two days if they didn't." A faraway look washed over Ragnar's face as he continued. "Once you have your sense of accomplishment, then they'll throw you into the grueling stuff, the real training. You'll be lucky if you don't brake every bone in your body before the week's over. But they take only the best. Too much is at stake for them to settle for anything less…"

Ragnar said the last part quieter than the rest, and Hiccup wondered why. Of all the people Hiccup had seen so far since coming here, Ragnar was the most mysterious. He held so much back, and chose only to speak in the most simplistic, direct terms. He was hiding much more than he let on. Hiccup could see it in his eyes.

After a long moment of silence, Hiccup asked, "But why would they want me? I'm not exactly built for this kind of thing. I mean, look at me, I'm—"

"You're a dragon rider, Hiccup. That asset alone makes you far more valuable than anybody here," Ragnar replied. "We possess something that the others never can, and that is why they want us." He threw a broken blade of grass that he had been tearing apart to the ground and looked distant. "That is why they will do everything in their power to keep us here…" His jaw tensed.

Wraith sensed his friend's anger and discomfort and looked up at him with concerned eyes, as if to console him.

Hiccup observed the gesture, and wondered what it was that troubled him so. At any rate, a surge of nervousness coursed through him at Ragnar's vivid description of the training that laid ahead of him tomorrow. Would it really be as bad as he let on? Surely he and Toothless wouldn't be stuck here forever, would they?

Or would they?

If that was the plan, then he needed to find a way to escape. But where? He had fled his homeland, and he couldn't go back there. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. Perhaps he and Toothless could learn to adapt to this new life that they were now in. They could make the best of the situation they were in until something better came along.

Ragnar's voice interrupted Hiccup's thoughts. "It's time for us to go now. The hour is late, and we'll get in trouble if we're out past curfew."

Hiccup nodded, rising to follow him.

* * *

 **Another one bites the dust! Ya so this is slightly shorted then most, but it was needed as the next part can't simply be tacked on to the end of this one. You people are amazing, as I am posting this there are 1,144 views for the story; you people are amazing. Thank you Childatheart28, Ember Neutron, and CheesyBlueberry for the fav/follow of the story! You people come up with some of the best usernames ever. Until next time my friends! oh, Narniaqueen1300 says hi everybody. anything you guys want to say or ask to her or me? Just leave a review.**


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, wake up." Hiccup heard, but he simply ignored it and tried to not let go of the comfortable bliss of sleep.

"Wake up." The voice said again, hiccup still ignored it and rolled over. "Ok, you brought this on yourself." The voice stopped its pestering after that and hiccup felt at peace once again, but that peace only lasted for a few minutes.

" _GET UP MAGGOT! I DIDN'T GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO SLEEP IN!"_ A loud voice that Hiccup didn't recognize shouted out in that weird language. Even though he didn't know what was being said, the tone of voice scared him to near death.

"AHHHH!" Hiccup shouted as he jumped out of his bed and landed beside it on his back. He looked over and saw Ragnar standing next to a large man.

" _Thanks Sergeant, you may leave."_ Ragnar said to the man, who then left after bringing his hand to his head , but not saying anything.

"What was THAT?" Hiccup shouted at Ragnar once he had stood up.

"That was your one and only pass, i know you're not used to waking up this early so that's why you get a pass." Ragnar informed him.

"Why how generous of you for the free pass." Hiccup replied in that sarcastic way of his.

"Hey, it's a lot better then the punishment that your would have received; now get dressed, breakfast starts service in a few minutes and only lasts 30 minutes." Ragnar told Hiccup before he left the room. Hiccup got up, changing into his uniform and out of the night garments that had also been provided to him. Once he finished he walked out of the room and then over to this place's version of a great hall, which was apparently called a "mess hall". He still did not know how they lighted everywhere; there were no visible fires or candles, and the lights were turned on and off with the flick of a switch on one of the walls.

Once he arrived, Hiccup got into the line for food after grabbing a tray. The food here seemed to have equal taste to the food back home, so he wondered if everybody ate this bland tasting food. After getting his food slopped on his tray, he found Ragnar sitting at the same table as last night. Strangely enough, there was nobody sitting with him at the table.

"Is it ok if I sit here with you?" Hiccup asked once he arrived at the table.

"Ya, go for it." Was the reply from the boy. Hiccup sat down across from him and and started eating his food. After a few minutes, they both finished eating and took their trays to the collection place for the dirty trays.

"So where are we going now?" Hiccup asked as they left the building.

"Training." Was all Ragnar said as they kept walking away from the mess hall and towards another building that was right behind where our sleeping quarters and the big dragon area was. They walked in and Ragnar turned on the lights; it was an old hangar that had been converted into a personal gym for Ragnar, and now Hiccup, so they wouldn't have to deal with the special forces trainees that came and went every six or so months.

"What's all this?" Hiccup asked as he had never seen any of the gym equipment before.

"This is a gym, a place to work out, or as I, and soon you, will come to know it by, hell." Ragnar ominously said.

"Why is that?" Hiccup asked as he stopped and turned to look at him.

"Because that's what it's going to feel like once we are done in here. Now i'm are going to start you off easy, four laps around perimeter." Ragnar said to Hiccup, who just kept looking at Ragnar. Ragnar had moved to the start of the track that ran the perimeter of the old hanger before he realized that Hiccup wasn't following him.

"HEY! Get over here!" Ragnar shouted at Hiccup, who nearly jumped out of his own skin before running over to where Ragnar was standing before following him as the boy took of and started the run. Hiccup simply followed after Ragnar; who set the pace slow enough for Hiccup to keep up, yet fast enough that it wasn't a slow jog. It took them a bit to finish the run, and when they did Hiccup was winded while Ragnar was only slightly out of breath.

"How can you do that?" Hiccup asked as they finished the run.

"As I told you earlier, I have already been through this hell and I was the demon that climbed out of it." Ragnar replied to him as he handed the boy a bottle of water. Hiccup just looked at him as he drank the water.

"Come on, next exercise." Ragnar said as he walked away from where they were standing, and over to a rack. Hiccup just watched as Ragnar put a 45 pound bar and two 25 pound weight plates per side on the rack.

"My job here is going to be making you stronger, but until you commit to the program I can't be as tough as I can. Now watch what I'm about to do, it's called a back squat." Hiccup watched Ragnar as he did 12 back squats. Once Ragnar finished he stepped out of the way and gestured for Hiccup to take his place. Hiccup got under the bar, but before he tried to lift it Ragnar stopped him and fixed his stance.

"Whenever you squat you should have your feet below your shoulders and keep your chest puffed out. If you don't then it could hurt your back." Ragnar informed him after fixing his stance. Hiccup tried to lift the heavy bar off the rack, but couldn't. Ragnar noticed that he couldn't lift it so he took off two of the four 25 pound plates. Hiccup tried once again and lifted it slightly off the rack, but still couldn't lift it.

"Why don't we take take all the weight off?" Hiccup suggested. They then took all the weight plates off the bar before Hiccup tried again. This time he was able to lift the bar and do some squats. He did 12 squats before he couldn't do any more, though the last few with some struggle.

"Now for some push ups." Ragnar said once he had finished putting the bar away.

"What's a push up?" Hiccup asked as Ragnar came back.

"Wow, you must really be out of time."

"What do you mean? What year is it?" Hiccup asked. He guessed he was still in Midgard, but that these people were more advanced than them, so the concept of being from a different time was a new way to think about it to him. He didn't remember going through an vortex, unless the large storm barrier had something to do with it.

"I can't tell you. Though it will all be explain in good time; most likely tomorrow night over dinner with the Colonel," was the quick reply before Ragnar got to the ground, "now back to the work out, this is a push up."

"How many do you expect me to do?" Hiccup asked after watching Ragnar do ten.

"Just as many as you can do." Ragnar replied. He then watched as Hiccup tried to do some push-ups, but only managed one before he fell flat on his chest trying to do a second. Ragnar just watched as Hiccup picked himself off the ground and stand in front of him. There was a clear scowl on Ragnar's face that slightly reminded Hiccup of the scowls he would receive from his father.

"Sorry, I know I'm weak." Hiccup said, apologizing as he would to his father for being weak or doing something wrong.

"Hey it's ok, no need to apologize for nothing. Everybody has their own strengths, some are physical and others mental. This just means I got some work ahead of me until you are as physically fit as I am. I have picked up you are pretty smart if you designed and built the prosthetic tail fin for Toothless by yourself, so not much training needed there." Ragnar replied.

Hiccup just stood there, dumbfounded, never before had somebody said there was no reason to feel ashamed of being the opposite of a Viking. Vikings were big and strong, but not that smart. Hiccup on the other hand was small and weak, yet possessed a very sharp mind. He never fit in and was constantly treated as an outcast on Berk, so to be in almost the same position and be told somebody would train him to be stronger was a very odd moment for him.

"Hey, snap out of it." Ragnar said while clapping his hands in front of the dazed boys face, snapping him out out of his stupor.

"Ah, sorry, what's next?" Hiccup asked once he snapped out of the daze. Once Hiccup came back from his daze, Ragnar kept on performing his physical evaluation of him. Needless to say, Ragnar will have his work cut out for him. By time they finished it was lunch time, so they headed back to the mess hall and had lunch. Once they had finished, Ragnar took Hiccup to the big building that held his living quarters and the dragon's area as well. Once they arrived in the building, instead of going to their rooms or all the way down to the ground floor, they got in the elevator and went on floor up.

"What are we going to do up here?" Hiccup asked him once they stepped out of the elevator. They had stepped into a room that had multiple tables and chairs with diagrams all over the walls.

"This is something we call a classroom, it's for teaching and learning things." Ragnar explained to him.

"What are we going to do here?" Hiccup asked as he kept looking around the room. The only teaching and learning that happened back on Berk was dragon training or on the job training in specific trades such as blacksmithing or boat building.

"In here I will teach you how to speak English, advanced battlefield tactics, modern technology, and anything else about our times that you would need to know." Ragnar explained.

"Well that all sounds exciting. Are we going to start right now?" Hiccup asked with noticeable glee in his voice.

"What are you so giddy about?" Ragnar asked as he had never seen anybody so happy about learning.

"It's just that where I come from learning is looked down upon unless it is a trade skill and like you said, i'm more brains than brawn." Was his explanation.

"Well then, let's get started. To start I am going to be teaching you to read, write, and speak English. Now if you would gladly take a seat then we will start." Ragnar said while gesturing towards one of the tables. Hiccup went over to the table and sat down just before Ragnar placed a book with strange writing on it in front of him.

"What's this?" Hiccup asked. Even though he guessed it was a book, he didn't know what it was about due to the strange writing.

"This is a textbook and it's going to help me teach you." Ragnar explained. Hiccup at first was confused by how a book was going to teach, then he realized it was the same as the dragon manual.

"Ok, can we get started?" Hiccup asked, clearly excited about everything.

"Well then, turn to page one and let's get started." Ragnar said, getting the lesson started. For the next few hours Ragnar taught Hiccup the alphabet and the number system. It surprised Ragnar how quickly Hiccup picked up on the new language.

"Ok, that's it for today. We are having dinner with the Colonel tonight so you better get cleaned up." Ragnar said as he closed his book.

"Ok," Hiccup said with a hint of sadness in his voice, "Are we going to do this again tomorrow?"

"Most likely, though it will all depend on how the dinner with the Colonel goes." Ragnar replied as they entered the elevator. They took the elevator down to the living quarters where they both took a shower before changing into fresh uniforms.

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 **Here there guys, i know it's been a bit but i never did have a normal updating schedule before. I hope the next chapter answers some unasked questions y'all have. Well if you have any questions, just ask me in a review and i will answer it to the best of my ability in a PM.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here you go, enjoy! Thank you to everybody who has read this story, its at 2,138 views. That's about 400 views less then "Brothers in Arms" has in total, and this is only the seventh chapter! You people rock! You will get more of this at the end so go ahead, read on!**

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Once changed and cleaned up, Hiccup fell on his bed. "I'm tiiiired," He moaned, feeling the soreness from the day of training setting in. He could barely move.

In the corner, Ragnar couldn't help a small chuckle. "That'll pass. You've been doing well, Hiccup."

"Thanks," Hiccup's muffled voice said into the pillow.

Ragnar approached him, pulling him up. "But it's time to get going now. I want to check in on the dragons before we head to dinner."

When Hiccup stood, he felt dizzy and stumbled a bit, but Ragnar steadied him. "Come on," He said with a small smile.

As soon as the boys stepped inside the dragon's room, Toothless and Wraith ran immediately up to them.

"Hey Toothless," Hiccup said, as his dragon proceeded to lick his face. "No no, stop that! This is my good uniform!" He laughed, even through his fatigued voice.

Wraith, as usual, approached his friend in a more reserved fashion. "Hey there," Ragnar said, rubbing his chin. "What have you guys been up to?"

At this point, Toothless fluttered his wings and looked pointedly up to where the sky was; or would be if there wasn't a ceiling there.

"You want to get out and fly, don't you?" Hiccup said. Toothless nodded enthusiastically, Wraith agreeing.

"Soon, buddy, soon."

Toothless nodded, a bit downcast. Ragnar saw his reaction and spoke up, "Hiccup's right. We'll get you two out of here soon."

Ragnar glanced at his watch. "Well, we need to get going now. We'll see you two later."

"Bye Toothless!" Hiccup said, turning to walk away. As they made their way out towards the mess hall, he felt a surge of anxiety surge through him, making his palms clammy. What would the Colonel say? If he and Toothless did stay here, what would they do? Did he even want to stay? A small part of him still missed home, but because he now had no idea how to even return, Hiccup concluded that this would probably be the next best thing. Besides, Ragnar's training intrigued him today, as tiring as it had been.

Sensing the boy's unease and noticing his slower pace, Ragnar turned around to face him. "Hey, you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just…thinking."

"What about?" Ragnar asked, though he could already guess.

"Well..what do you think the colonel will say? About my being here."

"You'll only find that out by talking to him," Was the only thing Ragnar could say. He wished he could sympathize more for the boy, but it felt out of nature for him.

Hiccup continued, "I honestly don't know where I'd go or what I'd do if I couldn't stay. I don't even know how I got here in the first place, let alone how to get home."

Ragnar clapped his hand on Hiccup's back. "Hey, it'll work out. Come on."

Hiccup and Ragnar entered the dining area, and took their place in line for food. Once seated and eating, Hiccup was suddenly struck by a wave of awareness of everything around him, and how much he didn't know about this culture. Though he matched almost everyone else in uniform, he couldn't help the feeling that he stuck out like a sore thumb.

At that moment, a young lad of about 25 or so approached their table and sat down. He had dark brown hair, neatly combed, and a curious gaze about him. He sat down in front of Hiccup.

" _I haven't seen you around here before. What's your name?_ " He said.

At first, Hiccup tried his hardest to think about this new language that he had just begun to study today, and see if he could somehow interpret what the boy had just said. However, in his limited knowledge, this task proved to be impossible. Not wanting to be rude and ignore him, Hiccup turned to Ragnar, who quickly translated. "He asked what your name is, and said that he hasn't seen you before."

"I'm Hiccup, and I'm…new here." He said, not quite sure how to respond. He didn't know if he was staying or going at this point. "What's your name?"

Ragnar translated again, and the boy responded, " _Micheal Green._ "

Hiccup smiled, about to keep talking, but just as he was about to, a tall man that Hiccup had seen before walked over to him and Ragnar.

"Follow me please" he said as Hiccup and Ragnar got up, taking their food with them, and followed him to an empty table that was out of the way and private.

"So how was today Hiccup?" Colonel Underson asked the boy once they finished eating.

"It was really enjoyable, but tiring at the same time. Though I have questions for you Colonel Underson." Hiccup replied as they sat there waiting for dessert to arrive.

"Please, call me Ben. Before I answer any of your questions I have one for you, would you be willing to stay here and be apart apart of this program?" He asked. This caused Hiccup to pause and think about that for a minute.

"What would that entail of I did stay?" Hiccup asked, he was happy that somebody was asking for him to stay and be apart of something after just a day, but he was not sure if he wanted to as bad memory's of the twins and Snotlout's tricking him came to mind.

"You would become apart of the Night Fury Program. For the next few years you will be trained by Ragnar in everything you will need to know to be a special forces soldier and a citizen of this nation." Ben replied. That got Hiccup thinking even more as nobody had ever truly wanted him around or offered to train him. What if this was the place for him and Toothless to stay? There was another Night Fury, and the two of them seemed to get together well; he couldn't drag Toothless away.

"And if I say no and leave?" Hiccup asked, wondering what would happen if he did leave.

"There is nobody stopping you from leaving, but you can't tell anybody of what you have seen here and you won't fit in anywhere you go. You best option is to stay here." Ben replied to him. Hiccup only thought about it for a few moments before making his decision.

"I will stay." Hiccup said.

"Good to hear, now what questions do you have for me?" Ben replied.

"First, what year is it? I know you are more advanced than anything I could think of, but all I did to get here was go through a thick storm bank. That brings me to my second question, where are we?" Hiccup replied, asking the two biggest questions on his mind at the moment.

"The year is 1987 and you are in Alaska, a state in the United States of America. Ragnar, could you go and get a world map and the globe from my office?" He replied as Ragnar got up and retrieved the requested objects before placing them in front of the Colonel. He then spun the world map around so it was facing Hiccup.

"This is the world?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes it is, and before you ask, this is where we are right now." Ben said as he pointed to a spot on the map in Alaska. Hiccup kept looking at the map as if trying to find something on it.

"Looking for someplace Hiccup?" Ragnar asked him before Colonel Ben could.

"Ya, I'm looking for my former home, Berk." Came the reply. Ben looked at the map and pointed out a spot on the map that was to the north of where they were.

"Here, this map doesn't show it as there is no reason to put your archipelago on the map. Only a select few know of its existence and to people who find it by accident it is an impassible storm wall." The Colonel explained.

"Then why haven't you come through the barrier and said hello or offered to help us with our dragon problem?" Hiccup asked, not understanding how they could know so much, yet not have been seen.

"You see that's the problem, we have been trying to get through the storm wall but we can't. Every time we try we have to turn back or risk destruction. The reason we know you are there is that the storm wall that incompases the intierty of your archipelago is only a wall and so it has no ceiling; so we have used satellite reconnaissance to see what was behind the wall." Came the explanation from Ben.

"If your machines couldn't do it, why not send Ragnar and Wraith?" The boy asked, still wondering why they never tried anything.

"I didn't want to risk our lives as we knew you had a dragon problem." Ragnar said, finally joining the conversation.

"I see. Well is there a chance we could go back now that I'm here and could act as a guide?" Hiccup asked.

"Maybe once your training is complete, but until then my answer is no." Ben answered him.

"Why is that Ben?" Hiccup asked as he really wanted to help Berk out.

"Easy, I don't want to risk your life."

"But I will have Toothless, Ragnar, and Wraith to help protect me."

"The answer is still a no, until you prove you can protect yourself I won't let you do anything too dangerous. Even though we just meet, you are now apart of my program so it's my job to keep you safe. That and I care about your safety." Ben said, sounding more like a father then the commanding officer of a top secret military program.

"How long will my training be?" Hiccup anxiously asked, still wanting to help out Berk.

"Your training will last two years before I trust you on a mission. It will be a further year of co-op missions before I trust you on a solo mission." Ben informed him.

"Well, it looks like you're staying after all," Ragnar said when dinner was over and the two of them were walking back to their sleeping quarters. Hiccup was walking at a slower pace than Ragnar, as he had earlier, seeming to take in his new environment.

"You have a tendency to walk slowly, don't you, Hiccup?" He said, amused.

Hiccup snapped his head up. "I am not walking slow."

Ragnar cocked an eyebrow.

"Ok maybe I fell a bit behind. I guess I'm just thinking," Hiccup admitted.

"About what the colonel said?"

"Yeah." He paused. "I guess this is going to be a new life for me."

Ragnar noted a hint of sadness in his voice, and guessed it was from homesickness. He had felt it too when he first arrived, and it had taken him a little while to break out of it. Now, it was almost entirely diminished. However, something about being around Hiccup struck a feeling inside him that he hadn't felt for a long time. Perhaps it was that the boy was still so obviously a citizen of Berk, and that he spoke in their native tongue that Ragnar hadn't heard in years. It all reminded him of his previous home and life…

Not wanting to allow himself to go there, Ragnar quickly brought himself back to the present, and focused on the situation at hand; a coping mechanism that had become all too familiar since coming here.

"It will be a new life, Hiccup. And it will take some adapting and hard work, but you will eventually come to know this place as home."

Hiccup sensed a notable change in Ragnar's voice as he said those last words. Before, he had been starting to warm up a bit to him, but for some reason he had changed in an instant. Something was clearly bothering him, and had been for the past few days, but Hiccup wouldn't dare ask. Although, even though he couldn't ask the question outright, one thing was clear to Hiccup: the problem had something to do with him. Every time he was with Ragnar for any prolonged period of time in which they weren't busy accomplishing some task or training, there was a tenseness so thick between them, Hiccup could practically feel it. Though, to his credit, Ragnar did do a good job of hiding it in front of Hiccup and others. As far as he knew, no one suspected anything was troubling Ragnar about his new mission to train the newcomer. That is, no one suspected anything except for Hiccup…

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 **Enjoy the chapter everybody? Well good cause it was fun to write and is the first that both Narniaqueen1300 and I wrote together. This is also the first AN we have done together so she is in** _ **italics**_ **. So what does everybody think about all the info we just dumped on you? Do you have any questions?** _ **You will see more of Ragnar's mysterious story unfolded in the future,**_ **trust us.** _ **I know it all seems a bit foggy right now with regard to that, but there is a reason. Thank you for the continued support, it means a lot! I have really been enjoying creating his character, and working on this story.**_

 **Thank you to davidfvjorge, feroxis835, alon2442, ANONIMO JR, stevenshoop18, and AngetianPrincess18 for the favorite/follow of the story and me.** **Now here are the responses to all you guests:**

 **Guest 1: Yes, Hiccup is very much a weakling at the beginning of this story. The whole reason we couldn't tell Hiccup the year was cause he wasn't apart of the program so now that he is, info will start pouring out. Luckily we managed to stop the earth from exploding and kept the Doctor from getting involved.**

 _ **To all the guests who replied to the April Fools chapter:** **Yes, that was a cruel joke to play on you guys! I must say I was startled myself when thearizona showed me. We vow never to do that to you guys again :)**_ **well, she vows, I will just say I will try not to do it again.**

 _ **Guest 3: Yes, I could see why Ragnar seems that way. He is quite distant and detached at this point, but you will know why later. And I must give credit to thearizona for the name Ragnar. It has worked out better than we thought for his character!**_ **His name means "Strong Counselor" so I will let you all think about what that implies.**

 _ **Thank you again everyone!**_ **See you all later!**


	8. Chapter 8

The next day when Ragnar tried to wake Hiccup up, he got right up as he did not want the same wake up call he got yesterday.

"I'm up, I'm up!" Hiccup shouted as he nearly jumped out of his bed to prove he was awake.

"Good, now get dressed cause it time for breakfast." Ragnar said before exiting the room. Hiccup really wanted to get back into bed, but he knew he couldn't so he dressed and left his room to follow Ragnar as he still wasn't very familiar with the layout of the base that they were at.

"You should really learn the base layout now that you are going to stay here." Ragnar told Hiccup as they walked to the mess hall.

"Shouldn't I just need to know how to get to the mess hall and back?" Hiccup asked.

"Well, at the moment yes. In the future you will need to know the whole base though." Ragnar said in response as they kept walking. Hiccup didn't reply as he was memorizing the way they took to get there. It was actually a relatively short walk so it was easy to remember. They got to the mess hall and ate their breakfast in silence.

"Is today's schedule going to be the same as yesterday's?" Hiccup asked Ragnar as they finished eating and placed their trays in the collection bins.

"Yes it is, but this time I don't have to worry about going easy on you." Ragnar said, which worried Hiccup with how creepy he sounded. Seeing the creeped out look that Hiccup had adopted made Ragnar laugh as they walked back to the gym. Once they arrived, Ragnar had Hiccup stand as he explained some things.

"From now until your training is complete, your ass belongs to me. You will do what I say, when I say it. Is that understood?" Ragnar said in a very ruff, authoritarian tone.

"Ok." Hiccup replied in a very timid tone.

"From now on, the first and last things you say will be sir, do I make myself clear?"

"Sir yes sir." Hiccup once again said in a weak tone.

"This is the last time I want to hear that weak tone out of you. I am training you to be a special operations soldier; they are the best of the best. You will not crumble or show fear. You will never let anybody see that they have been gotten too. From now until the day you die you will never sound or appear weak again." Ragnar near shouted at the lad.

"Sir yes Sir." Hiccup replied in his normal nasally voice, trying not to back down from the physically and mentally imposing Ragnar.

"I can't hear you!"

"Sir Yes Sir!" Hiccup yelled back at him, finally satisfying Ragnar.

"Good, now drop and give me twenty push-ups." Ragnar ordered Hiccup.

"I can't do twenty push-ups though." Hiccup said.

"I didn't ask you if you could do them, I ordered you to do them." Ragnar replied. Hiccup didn't argue with him, he just got down on the ground and started doing the push-ups.

"I can't hear you counting! For counting you can just say the number then sir." Ragnar shouted at Hiccup after he had done one push-up. Hiccup looked up at him for a moment before starting back on the push-ups.

"One Sir, Two Sir." Hiccup said with difficulty as he did them.

"Come on! One more push-up Hiccup!" Ragnar shouted at Hiccup as he struggled to do a third one. Hiccup was struggling to get to the top of his third while Ragnar was standing over him and yelling at him to do better. After much shouting and struggling, Hiccup finished the push-up and tried to do a fourth but ended up on the ground.

"That's all I can do in a row." Hiccup said as he got to his knees and stood up.

"All that you can do now, but in the future you will be doing more, a lot more." Ragnar said. After that, Ragnar put Hiccup through double of what he had the day before; and let's just say Hiccup was extremely tired by the end of the six hour workout. When they walked back to the mess hall for lunch, Hiccup was walking slowly due to the multiple runs and squats that Ragnar had him do. Hiccup dropped into the bench on the table and ate his lunch.

"Come on Hiccup, let's get going. The days not over yet." Ragnar said to Hiccup as the lad had finished eating and was laying his head down on the table, trying to get some rest. Hiccup groaned, not wanting to get up, but got up anyways and followed Ragnar back to the big building that housed their rooms and the dragons.

"What does that sign say?" Hiccup asked Ragnar as he pointed towards a sign that was hanging over the door. Hiccup had no idea how he missed it the other day, but somehow he did.

"It says Dragons Edge, that's the name of this particular building." Ragnar replied as they walked inside. They made their way up to the classroom where there were some things Hiccup didn't recognize sitting on the table. Two of them looked like ear muffs and the other two looked like some sort of goggles.

"What are those?" Hiccup asked as Ragnar placed two strange metal devices that looked like the letter L on the table.

"This is the first weapon I will be training you on." Ragnar said.

"But what is it? It doesn't look like any weapon I have seen before." Hiccup said as he felt the smooth metal on the side.

"It's what we call a pistol, and it's a firearm. It works by firing a bullet, or this, out of the barrel at very high speeds." Ragnar informed him while showing him a bullet before putting it down and picking up the pistol. "This is a M9, it fires a nine millimeter bullet, which is the same size as the round that you have in your hand."

"How does it work?" Hiccup asked as he was looking over the bullet with the eye of a tinkerer.

"On the inside of the barrel is a firing pin which slams forward when you pull the trigger and hits the detonator cap here, setting off a load of gunpowder and propelling the round out of the barrel at extremely fast speeds. Now if you would follow me, we have a firing range on the next floor up." Ragnar said before grabbing everything on the table and walked to the elevator.

"Put these on. They will protect your eyes and ears." Ragnar told Hiccup as he handed him the eye and ear protection, which Hiccup promptly put on. Ragnar then showed Hiccup how to hold and fire the weapon. Needless to say, Hiccup jumped when Ragnar first fired the pistol as he had never seen anything like it.

"The projectile is so small and leaves such a small hole, how much damage could it actually do?" Hiccup asked.

"I thought you would ask that, so I set up a human analogue in the shape of a dead pig." Ragnar switched to the next lane and fired at the hanging pig. Once Ragnar had cleared the range, they walked down to where the pig was to look at the carnage.

"How does something so small do so much?" Hiccup asked Ragnar after seeing the damage the round had done.

"It's not really the size, but the speed. Due to its fast speed, it rips and tears through the flesh, as well as creating a large temporal cavity which hurts even more." Ragnar explained to him. They stayed in the range for a few hours before it was time for dinner. They ate dinner and then headed back to Dragon's Edge as hiccup was so tired.

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Hiccup yawned and blinked his eyes open. His eyelids felt heavy as he glanced around the dark room. His gaze drifted over to where Ragnar's bed was, beside his. It appeared to be empty.

Peering at the clock on the wall and seeing that is was a little after midnight, Hiccup wondered where he could possibly be at this hour of the morning.

"Ragnar?" He whispered softly, in case he happened to be close by. When there was no response, Hiccup sat up, peeling the covers off of himself and yawning. Once up, he reached for his jacket that was on the hanger and slipped it on over his night clothes. He noticed that Ragnar's coat wasn't there, as he made his way outside to check.

Scanning the scene outside the building, Hiccup glanced around in every direction, being careful to not be too loud with his footsteps. After several moments, he turned to go back inside. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shadowy figure in the distance. The moon beams dimly lit the area enough so that Hiccup could just make out the silhouette of a teenage boy sitting on a bench. He leaned forward, head in hands, unflinching, with a look of utter despair etched across his face. He apparently didn't seem to notice the boy who was curiously approaching him.

Once he was no more than ten feet away, Hiccup cleared his throat. "Ragnar? That you?"

Upon hearing Hiccup's voice, he sat up quickly, straightening his posture. "Hiccup? What are you doing out here?"

Hiccup came closer, trying to appear casual. "Oh, nothing. I just woke up and noticed you were gone, so I thought I'd come see where you went."

"You should be in bed," was all Ragnar said.

"I know, but I wanted—"

"Just go back inside, Hiccup," Ragnar said, voice strained. His tough front was wearing off.

Hiccup could tell that something was very clearly troubling him, but it was obvious Ragnar did not want to talk about it, whatever it was. At any rate, he was not going to let Ragnar stay out here alone and suffer the agony of whatever was causing him grief. Deciding in the moment that it was best to change the subject, Hiccup suggested the first thing that came to his mind.

"Hey, um, do you want to maybe take the dragons out for a bit? They've been pretty cooped up lately, and I know they could both use the exercise, Toothless especially, and probably Wraith too…" He always rambled when he was nervous. Why did he have to do that?

Ragnar glanced over in his direction, thinking about what he said. Perhaps it would be a good idea to take the dragons out for a bit tonight. He knew that Hiccup had been itching to fly again, and he knew there was no way he could sleep at this point. Besides, it would be a good distraction from his haunting thoughts for a small while anyways.

Deciding to put on his facade of normalcy for Hiccup's sake, he nodded his head and turned to Hiccup. "You could use the training anyways," he said, offering a practical explanation for why he would ever consent to such an excursion at this time of night. In truth however, the prospect did excite him a bit. It had been ages since he's taken Wraith out on a night flight.

"Come on then," he said, rising. At least now he wouldn't have to explain to Hiccup why he was outside in the middle of the night, pondering his life. He must keep up his tough front with this boy, however much he didn't want to at times. Something about him just seemed to spark so many memories from Ragnar's past; memories that, for the sake of everyone, were best kept locked away and hidden. Yes, they tormented him, but his anger and hardened image that he had made for himself were all he had now. If he let that guard down, what would be left? Weakness? Fear?

No, that wasn't an option for him. That would _never_ be an option again; he intended to hold fast to that vow he had made to himself years ago. Weakness and fear were what had ruined everything…

"You sure you're alright?" Hiccup's voice startled him out of his thoughts once again. He studied Ragnar inquisitively.

"You should never question those above you, Hiccup. It's a bad habit that will get you in lots of trouble if you're not careful," Ragnar responded as Hiccup closed his mouth. Best to keep him in his place. Part of Ragnar felt a slight twinge of guilt at shutting the boy down, who so obviously wanted to make friends. But the larger part reminded him that on a practical level, it would be best for both of them if he kept his distance. And, as it had with nearly everything in his life thus far, practicality would always win.

Once they arrived at the dragon's room, Toothless and Wraith immediately rushed over to them excitedly.

"Toothless, guess what!?" Hiccup said, racing over to him. "We're going flying!"

Ragnar turned to Wraith, who also perked up at this news.

"Grab your gear, Hiccup. We can't be too long," said Ragnar, bending over to pick up his and putting it on Wraith's back. Hiccup copied him, and in no time, both dragons were ready to take off. Before he mounted Wraith, Ragnar walked over to the corner of the large room where there was a latch hanging down. When he pulled it, a flap at the very top of the ceiling lowered, opening up an exit out that was big enough for the dragons to fit through. Hiccup marveled at the stars that appeared to be getting closer and closer as they flew out into the night.

As soon as they were in the open sky, Hiccup directed Toothless to follow Ragnar's lead, as he didn't want to somehow get lost. The last time he had flown outside was when he arrived here, and that hadn't gone as smoothly as he had hoped.

Overhead, Ragnar and Wraith flew higher and higher into the night sky, passing some of the smaller clouds that hung beneath the stars. Hiccup loved the feeling of the wind in his face as Toothless dipped, turned, and adjusted his speed to match Wraith's pace. Even as he was distracted by the beauty the wondrous night, Hiccup couldn't help but notice Ragnar's great flying expertise and experience that far surpassed his own. Ahead, the blonde haired young man barely flinched as he sat upright on his dragon, hardly having to even grasp his reins with his hands, as his legs did all the work to keep him on. Nothing more than the flick of a finger, or a slight movement, and Wraith would know exactly where to turn, or go. There was complete, mutual trust between the boy and his dragon.

Hiccup shared the trust part with Toothless, however in addition to this, a slight feeling of envy at Ragnar's obvious skill level crossed his mind. He adjusted himself clumsily on Toothless' back, attempting to keep up with the pair ahead. Oh, what it would be like to fly with the grace that Ragnar and Wraith did!

Feeling Hiccup's movement, Toothless made a grunting sound. "Sorry, boy," said Hiccup, knowing that it wasn't at all comfortable for his companion when he shifted the wrong way.

After several moments of silent flight, Hiccup began to hear a whistling sound in his ears. He immediately recognized it as the wind, but it seemed to have gotten stronger. Toothless dipped a little from the turbulence, and tried to regain his straight flight path.

Ragnar turned around. "The wind's picking up. We should start back soon!" He called to them, making a slight, gradual U-turn around. He pulled off the turn with little resistance, flying straight again within seconds.

Hiccup nodded, and attempted to follow in Ragnar's course. "Sure!" He shouted back. However, whether it was from the wind of Ragnar turning, or a sudden gust that swept in, Toothless suddenly lost control of his wings and started spiraling in a downward direction.

The world spun around Hiccup, as he struggled with everything in him to hang on tight and not let go.

"Ragnar! _"_ He shouted frantically, hardly able to think, as he was flung from one side to another.

Immediately, Ragnar jolted Wraith around, and when he witnessed the sight before him, he gave a command to Wraith, and flew quicker than lightning to below where Hiccup and Toothless were spiraling.

"Hold on, Hiccup! Do not let go!" He yelled, now ten feet beneath them. It was obvious that Hiccup was not going to be able to hold on much longer, and in one frantic moment, Ragnar flew up and to the right, just at the second that Hiccup's hand released the reins, and he began to freefall through the air.

Without missing a beat, Ragnar reached his arm out, and grabbed Hiccup by his jacket, and swung him onto Wraith who dipped down a little from the added weight.

"Ragnar! Toothless can't fly without me! I need to get back on!" Hiccup shouted over the noise. Beneath them, Hiccup saw that Toothless had lost all control, and was going down fast.

Ragnar immediately dipped down, and came close enough beside Toothless for Hiccup to jump on.

Toothless only spiraled for a few seconds longer, before making his recovery and straightening his wings, Hiccup now on his back.

Hiccup's hands trembled as he held onto Toothless as they flew in the direction of the ground.

"Hiccup! You alright?" Ragnar said above the noise of the wind.

"Y...yeah…" was all Hiccup could get out.

" **Thought you could leave me, did you?** " Toothless questioned snobbishly. Hiccup couldn't respond, as he was still quite shaken up.

Wraith flew down gradually back to the base, Toothless following right beside him. Hiccup didn't dare flinch the whole way down.

Once they reached the ground, Ragnar hopped off. Hiccup, however, did not move.

"Hey, you ok?" Ragnar asked, walking around towards him. Hiccup shakily nodded, sliding down from Toothless with caution. Ragnar offered a hand, steadying him.

"Th..thanks," Hiccup said, brushing himself off. "You saved my life."

" **Not to mention mine.** " Toothless said.

"Don't mention it. You owe me one now," replied Ragnar, turning to Hiccup with a sardonic half smile. "Better get some sleep. Training starts again at the same time as usual in the morning."

* * *

 **Well it's now official, this is now my most viewed story, having about 100 more views the "Brothers in Arms" does. You people are fantastic. :) You all get some internet cookies and confetti! Don't worry about cleaning the confetti up, I have people for that. Did everybody enjoy this chapter? I hope Hiccup's reaction to a gun was appropriate. If you guys have any question, just leave a review and it will get answered.**

 **Thanks to Oechsner C, 1989, SoNevable, PrimusDefender501, and Night of StarClan for the favorite and follow of either this story or me as a writer.**

 **See you guys next time!**


	9. Chapter 9

Six months. It had been six months since Hiccup the Useless, now labeled Hiccup the Traitor, had left Berk. Nothing much had changed really, Snotlout became the new hair and was still trying, and failing, to get Astrid to go on a date with him. The Twins had devoted themselves to Loki and as such were causing all sorts of mischief, and Fishlegs was as engrossed in the Dragon Manual as ever.

"Where do you think Hiccup has gone?" Fishlegs asked the group as they still hang out often.

"I don't care where that little traitor went, as long as he doesn't come back." Snotlout said before putting his arm over Astrid shoulder. "Isn't that right babe?"

"As I have told you, KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF ME AND I'M NOT YOUR BABE!" Astrid shouted as she took his hand and used it to throw him onto the ground.

"Gosh fine, but you know you'll be back for me." Snotlout replied as he got up and flexed, showing off his muscles before sitting back down at the table, albeit a bit further away from Astrid.

"I'm serious though, where could he have gone that he hasn't been spotted yet?" Fishlegs asked once again.

"Why does it matter Fishlegs?" Astrid asked him. "That traitor is gone and I'm took my rightful place and killed the Nightmare."

"I just think it interesting that nobody has seen either of them since they left." Fishlegs stated.

"Well keep that thinking to yourself." Ruffnut told him.

"Ya, that's dangerous thinking." Tuff added to his sisters statement.

"Well somebody's got to be stupidly smart around here now that the little traitor is gone." Snotlout said as he had switched to picking on Fishlegs once Hiccup had left.

"But..." Fishlegs starte"Shut up stink breath, nobody wants to listen to you babble. Why don't you go talk to Bucket about it. I'm sure he would love to talk about it." Snotlout said while interrupting him. Fishlegs sat there for a moment or two, on the verge of tears, before he finally got up and left the great hall.

"That's right, run away you big oaf!" Snotlout yelled at him. Fishlegs almost didn't hear it as he was walking out the door, but Snotlout was just loud enough that he did. He hurried out the door, away from great hall and into the forest. Ever since Hiccup had left, Fishlegs had started to go into the forest to see if be could gain an insight into what made Hiccup befriend a dragon. Over the last six months, he had started to understand and appreciate why Hiccup would go into the forest.

This particular time, Fishlegs just wandered through the forest and tried to build himself back up. He had been Hiccups friend once, before he joined the gang so they wouldn't pick on him. Though now that Hiccup was gone, all the camaraderie that he thought had been built up, was thrown away and they started picking on him. He wasn't looking where he was going, and soon fell down a hill and into a small cove. He went slide several feet and when he went to get up, hit his head onto something solid. After closer inspection he saw it was a shield! Who ever had gotten the shield stuck between the two rocks must have been small as there was no going over or around it, and below it was a small opening somebody of Hiccups size.

"Hiccup?" Fishlegs said aloud to nobody. He broke through the rotting wood without a problem and started to inspect the area. On the ground were scorch marks and black scales that could only belong to one creature. Hiccups Night Fury, who it appeared he had named Toothless, if the shouting when he left had any inclination. Though he could have sworn he saw teeth on the thing.

"By the gods, this must be where he trained the beast." He muttered once the realization bit him. Right then he decided to not tell anybody about it, as they would surely destroy the area and it was a beautiful cove. Plus if Hiccup ever came back, this would be where he would go and Fishlegs wanted to be the first to see him.

* * *

"Come on Hiccup, one more push-up!" Ragnar shouted at Hiccup as he was struggling to go up on one final push-up.

"Twenty...five," Hiccup struggled to say as he finished the push-up.

"Good job, that's a new record Hiccup." Ragnar said as Hiccup got some water from his water bottle.

"Thanks Ragnar." Hiccup replied once he finished getting some water. "So what's that covered up in the corner? It appeared about two months ago and it has always been covered."

"Well why don't you go and find out? It's about time i started you on that." Ragnar replied as he gestured to the cover machine. When Hiccup removed the tarp he saw a seat on a rail that was hooked up to a wheel with paddles facing the opposite the wheel would turn.

"What is this?" Hiccup asked Ragnar as he kept looking at it and trying to discover what it was for.

"This is a rowing ergometer, or erg." Ragnar explained.

"What's it for?" Hiccup asked.

"It's used to simulate rowing." Ragnar replied before sitting down on the thing. "Just watch me for a bit then I'm going to have you do it."

"I never was any good at rowing." Hiccup said softly, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Hey, remember what we talked about?" Ragnar asked as he was instantly up off the erg and next to Hiccup.

"Ya, forget about everything that happened on Berk and focus on what's happening now." Came the reply, though it was a half-hearted reply. Ragnar still picked up on it though.

"Hiccup, what's wrong?" He asked the boy.

"Nothing, let's just get back to the work out." Hiccup replied, trying to deflect the question. Ragnar put his hand on Hiccup's shoulder, stopping him from walking off.

"You are a terrible liar sometimes, you know that right?" Ragnar told him, effectively telling him he knew he wasn't ok.

"Ya, I know." Hiccup said as he turned back around to face Ragnar.

"Then tell me what's wrong." Ragnar said in a sterner voice.

"Today marks six months exactly since Toothless and I ran away from Berk." Hiccup replied with a sad tone.

"Well then why are you moping around and being sad? We should be celebrating!" Ragnar said before trying to drag Hiccup out of the gym. Hiccup planted his feet and wouldn't let him though.

"Why? Why is it worth celebrating? All i did was run away, and who knows what would have happened if i had stayed?" Hiccup answered as Ragnar stopped trying to drag him out of the gym.

"It's worth it cause they would have killed you and Toothless, plus you found your way here. It feels likes it's only been a few weeks, but it's been the best weeks that i can remember in a long while." Ragnar told him, trying to cheer him up.

"Ya, your right. It has actually been the best six months of my whole life, that i can remember. Though i'm not sure it's celebratory." Came the reply from the boy, sounding a bit more like his normal self.

"There's the Hiccup i know, now i don't care if you don't think we should celebrate it or not, we are going to. Though let's do it tonight." Ragnar said before going back to the erg. That night after dinner, instead of going back to the Dragon's Edge, Ragnar had Hiccup follow him to another close by building on base.

"What's in here? I thought you said we were going to do something special tonight." Hiccup asked Ragnar as they walked inside. Ragnar didn't say anything as he shut the door, flooding the room with darkness.

"Congratulations!" Hiccup heard somebody say before the lights were turned on and he saw who it was. It was the Colonel and he was standing behind a table with Ragnar and there was something on the table.

"Wha-what's all this?" Hiccup asked, not really understanding what was happening.

"This is a small celebration between the three of us before the two of you and your dragons do something later tonight. It's been six months and I think that's something special, considering how much you have learned." Ben said.

"What are we doing later and what's in the case?" Hiccup asked him, the case looked familiar but he couldn't tell.

"What you are doing later is between you, Ragnar, Toothless, and Wraith. As for what's in the case, it's your new weapon." Ben told him. That's when it hit the boy, he had seen that type of case before when ever he had practice shooting with a rifle, it's what was used to transport them. Ragnar unzipped the zipper and opened the case, unveiling Hiccups new rifle.

"Well, don't be shy, come and pick up your weapon." Ragnar said.

"It's a nice looking weapon, I'm not sure if I can accept it." Came the reply as the young teen edged forward.

"Well this is picked off of how I saw you use the different rifles, and whether you accept it or norm this is your weapon. Now take it." Ragnar said. It was true, he had watched how well Hiccup had done with each rifle and how much time he spent with each.

"Thanks. I have never had my own weapon before, but there is a first for everything right? What type of rifle is it?" Hiccup asked as he picked it up.

"It's a M24A3 SWS Sniper Rifle which fires a .338 Lapua Magnum round and it's all yours. Do anything you wish to it, modify it to your hearts content." Ben said to the awestruck teen before he started to leave. "Now I do believe your dragons are waiting for you gentlemen, I suggest not making wait."

"Are you going to name it?" Ragnar asked as Hiccup put the rifle away.

"I should shouldn't I." Hiccup said before closing the case and giving it some thought. "I'm going to name her Hefnd Nótt."

"Night's Revenge, I like it. It's very fitting." Ragnar replied as they walked out the door and towards the Dragon's Edge. When the walked into the living area Ragnar walked into Hiccup's room.

"You will keep Hefnd Nótt in your room, unloaded and in this drawer." Ragnar said while pulling open a drawer that had always confused Hiccup as it seemed to have no use. Now he understood it's use though. Hiccup placed the case in the drawer, but had kept the rifle in his hand.

"I want to show Toothless. He might as well get used to it right?" Hiccup said as Ragnar eyed him for a second before nodding in understanding. They walked to the elevator and took it down to the ground floor. As normal, Toothless and Wraith were there to meet them.

" **I'm so excited to see you Hiccup! Did you know it's been six months since we took off from berk, and I'm so happy we did, I could never imagine losing you.** " Toothless said as he rushed his rider and started to purr and brush against Hiccup's sides as they exited the elevator.

"Yes I did know, that's why we're here." Hiccup replied as he gestured towards Ragnar.

" **What's in your hand Hiccup?** " Toothless asked as he finally noticed the rifle Hiccup was holding.

"This is my very own weapon. It's a M24A3 SWS Sniper Rifle." Hiccup told the Night Fury as he held it out for said dragon to sniff it.

" **Have you named it yet?** " Toothless asked him.

"Yup, I named it Hefnd Nótt, Night's Revenge." Hiccup replied.

" **Very appropriate, all things considered.** " Toothless said.

"Hiccup, go put it away and get Toothless saddled up. We got something to do." Ragnar said. He almost turned into somebody else when they went flying.

"Ok, I'll be right back." Hiccup replied before walking back to the elevator to go back to his room and put Hefnd Nótt away. When he returned he could hardly get the flying equipment on Toothless because said dragon was jumping all around. Once they got out of the building, they just flew and did tricks in the wondrous, slightly stormy night sky until they got tired and turned in.

However, through this time of great celebration for Hiccup and Ragnar, there were gathering storm clouds brewing in the distance of things buried still that had yet to surface. And, as such things buried tend to be, they would come to the light soon enough. That would be when the true battle began: the battle of the human soul...

* * *

 **Dun Dun Duuuun! Haha, sorry that's just felt right. So what do you guys think so far? Anybody like the name I gave to Hiccup's new rifle? Or how about back on berk? Any likes, dislikes, comments, or suggestions? Well if you do have any just drop them into that review box down below and then send it to us. The more the merrier right?**

 **So something most of you will not know, there is now a Facebook page for me and two people have already followed it. So I will be posting updates on how writing is going...and maybe some spoilers, who knows. *Maniacal laugh***

 **Well anyways, onto the thank you's. Thank you Kawaii shiba inu, miss-beauty-world, CartoonLoverBecky, 6footsniper, sweetsnakes, Zackmon, ExploderKing, and Kosloski001 for following/favoriting this story, and/or me. And a little update, this story has 3,205 views. You people are amazing. Well, until next time!**


	10. Chapter 10

Writing style: Norse; _English_ ; **Dragonese**

Chapter 10

* * *

Hiccup sat at the dinner table, laughing with a few of the other guys. In the year that he'd been here, he'd managed to make a few friends aside from Ragnar, and when he wasn't busy training, he enjoyed spending the afternoons visiting with them, and sharing tales of Berk and the people there. He also took a keen interest in their lives, and absorbed as much as he could about this strange world that he was somehow now a part of.

He and Ragnar's friendship had grown as well, especially over the last several months. Although, while Hiccup had shared nearly all of his past with his friend, he still knew very little about what Ragnar's story was, and every time Hiccup had brought it up, Ragnar was quick to dismiss the subject and focus again on whatever task was at hand. Hiccup had chosen to overlook it, however because of Ragnar's secretive nature, there had been some conflict between them as of late. Nothing serious, but enough that there was some tension between the two.

Matthew punched Hiccup's shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts.

" _So, have you signed up yet?_ "

" _Signed up? For what?_ "

" _The annual sniper competition._ " The blank look on Hiccup's face bespoke his ignorance on the topic.

" _Ragnar did tell you about it, right?_ "

" _Uh…_ " Hiccup looked over at Ragnar, who avoided eye contact. " _No, I haven't heard of it yet._ "

Matthew gulped down some water. " _Oh, well, if you want to get a place on the list, I would sign up as soon as possible. These things fill up pretty quick._ " He rose, picking up his tray. " _See you around, Hiccup_."

" _Yeah, see you._ "

A little while later, on their way out, Hiccup brought up the subject matter to Ragnar.

"So, about this competition, how do Toothless and I sign up?" Hiccup disposed of his dinner tray and proceeded to walk out the door following Ragnar.

Ragnar kept walking, not looking at him. "You won't need to sign up, because you won't be entering."

Hiccup stopped. "What?"

"Just as I said," the blonde said, stopping, but not turning back at Hiccup.

Hiccup stepped forward. "But…why?"

"I don't feel you are ready. Not yet."

"Not ready?" He faced Ragnar. "I have been here training for an entire year, Ragnar, why would I not be ready?"

"Your skills do not yet match what they are looking for."

Hiccup stepped in front of him, stopping him from going any further. "What do you mean my skills don't match? I can do nearly all the same things as you now! My endurance level is better than it's ever been, and even the colonel said that I was more improved now than he's ever seen me!"

"Yes, you have improved, Hiccup, but the choice of your advancement comes down to my decision, and I say that you're not ready yet. I am sorry." Ragnar closed his eyes, knowing that what he was saying would hurt Hiccup, but he couldn't help it. The winners of the competition would be placed in the most dangerous battles, and he couldn't risk losing Hiccup just like….others he had lost.

"I don't understand!" Hiccup shouted.

"You don't have to understand. You have only to do as you're told." Ragnar said quietly. He cringed when he saw the look of hurt disappointment and fury wash over his friend's face.

"You're holding me back! You know I am ready for the harder challenges, but you don't want me to advance! I see how it is. You don't trust me!"

"I do trust you, Hiccup, it's just—"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear you!" He gave a short, sardonic laugh. " And all this time I thought you wanted me to do better. Now I see what was really happening. You afraid I might be better than you. You're afraid of my advancement because it might threaten your position here!"

"Dammit Hiccup, if you would just listen to me!" Ragnar yelled, struggling to gain control of his emotions.

"I have listened to you! That's the problem." Hiccup said coldly.

Ragnar felt as though he had been shot. He turned away abruptly. "I have to go."

"Oh, so that's how it is? You just leave! Every time things don't go your way! You don't own me, Ragnar!"

Ragnar turned back to look over his shoulder at the boy, who so desperately wanted an explanation that he couldn't give. Breathing heavily, he raced into the night, not once turning to look back again.

* * *

Deeper and deeper Ragnar ran into the thick forest that bordered the base. He didn't know where he was going, but did know that he needed to get away from Hiccup. He couldn't bear being around the boy. Not now.

After a little while, Ragnar stopped, out of breath, and leaned against a tree branch that hung low by the creek. As he struggled to regain his composure, he suddenly became aware of his own helplessness and was disgusted.

He had run!

He had run away from Hiccup! He never ran away from things, always confronted them head on.

Or so he would like to believe. Hadn't he been running? Perhaps not from physical challenges, but from the truth about his life?

He sank down against the tree trunk and hugged his knees against his chest. He hated how he felt right now: weak, defenseless, cowardly.

Everything he despised in others, everything he had drilled into Hiccup for the past year not to be, were the very things he saw in himself if he were to be honest.

Perhaps therein lied the trouble; Hiccup reminded him so much of someone. So very much…

Ragnar closed his eyes as memories from the past crept into his mind, and all of a sudden, he was a boy again, young and carefree…

 _"Rag! Come on, come on!"_

 _12 year old Ragnar finished cleaning his sword in the shed as he heard the piercing voice of his little brother, Erik, interrupt him._

 _"What do you want now?" He said, annoyed._

 _Erik trotted up to him, tripping over his feet a bit. At 7, he was quite active, but had trouble sometimes keeping his pace._

 _"Mama wants you in the house for supper!"_

 _Must he always be so loud? Ragnar put the cloth he was using to the side. "Tell her I'll be in in a bit. I'm almost done."_

 _Erik seated himself on a stool nearby, swinging his legs back and forth. "Can't you play? I'm boooored," He whined. Ragnar sighed in annoyance. However, in spite of himself, he found he could never say no to the boy._

 _"Alright," He said, standing. "What do you want to play?"_

 _Erik jumped up and followed after him. "Tree fort."_

 _Ragnar raised an eyebrow. "Again?"_

 _"Yes!"_

 _However, before the two could continue, Ragnar heard the voice of their mother calling them. "Ragnar! Erik! Time to come in now!"_

 _"Aww," Erik moaned. Ragnar ruffled his hair._

 _"Hey, it's ok. We'll play later. Come on, buddy, I'll catch you," He offered as the boy stood up again on the stool and jumped into Ragnar's arms._

 _"Weee!"_

 _Ragnar laughed. "Good job." He took Erik's hand as they made their way back to the house._

 _Ah, if only life had gone on that way. Not a care in the world. But things change. And that fateful day that soon followed had been a source for hundreds of nights of feverish sleep, and constant fear in Ragnar's life. He had tried so hard to forget, but he found that he couldn't, no matter how desperately he willed himself to. He could still hear his father's voice, calling orders above the terrifying noise that was rising…_

 _"We're under attack!"_

 _Ragnar heard the shouts and piercing screams of the frightened villagers as their homes were being invaded by the Drakkaeins, the feared enemy of the people of Skógey Island. Homes were set aflame, and people slaughtered left and right._

 _Ragnar looked on from a distance. It had all happened so fast. He had gone out into the woods to play, and the next thing he knew, he heard his father's voice yelling, along with the other men of the village._

 _Frantic commands were given by the men for the women and children to stay down, to hide and not move._

 _Chaos was everywhere. Cries of pain penetrated the air, as the men clashed swords, and women were dragged out onto the streets by their hair. The sobbing of the small children could be heard in the distance, but they were soon silenced as the Drakkaeins swiftly put an end to them, and anyone else who crossed their path._

 _In one frantic moment, Ragnar bolted as fast as he could towards his home, which was near the end of the street. As he got closer, he could see his father fighting a man, resisting him with all his strength, and his mother and brother hiding behind a haystack. Erik was wailing, and his mother attempted to silence him so they would not be heard._

 _In a sickening moment, Ragnar watched as his father was run through by the blade of a soldier that had crept up behind him._

 _"No!" He screamed, and raced closer, about to attempt to take on the man himself._

 _His mother saw what he was attempting to do, and cried out to him through the chaos. "Ragnar! Don't!" She yelled, as another soldier approached her and Erik. "Run away, Ragnar! Go, now!"_

 _Breathing heavily, Ragnar had no choice but to obey. Not turning around to look behind him, Ragnar bolted back into the forest and hid. Fear overtook him as he shook and hid inside of an old, rotted log, completely numb._

 _A little while later, Ragnar became aware of the silence that rung in the air. He peered out from his hiding place, and slowly emerged from it. Against his will, he felt himself walking towards the village that now consisted of piles of smoldering lumber, and the villagers who had been killed. The stench of smoke and death hung over the place, and Ragnar felt nauseous at the sight that he beheld._

 _"M..other?" He said quietly. And then he clasped his hands to his mouth when he saw her._

 _Blood seeped through her and Erik's clothing, as they lay lifeless on the ground. Erik's eyes were still slightly open, and blood was on his parted lips._

 _Ragnar sank to his knees as he leaned over his family's still forms. Lifting his brother from the ground and onto his lap, he cupped his head against his chest. Ragnar ran his hand softly over the boy's face, closing his eyes._

 _Bowing his head, Ragnar wept. "I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"_

 _That night, a young Night Fury had seen the little boy crying in the woods alone, and shielded his wing over him to protect him from the rain._

As Ragnar remembered, tears streaked down his face for the first time in years.

"I'm sorry Erik…it was all my fault. I should have saved you. I should have saved all of you," Ragnar said into his knees. But he hadn't. He'd ran. He'd let fear overtake him.

And then he'd met Hiccup…

Hiccup was the exact image of what Erik had been, both in physical features, and in mannerisms. To Ragnar, he was the brother he had lost all over again. That was why Ragnar vowed to not let anything happen to him. He would protect him, whatever the cost. He failed his family, but he would not fail Hiccup.

But maybe he already did.

Hiccup's words rang in Ragnar's head, "I have listened to you. That's the problem!"

Ragnar cringed. He wasn't the tough warrior that he let on to be. He wasn't even brave. He was…afraid.

Not that that mattered now. He had lost the one person he vowed to watch over. Hiccup wanted nothing to do with him, not anymore.

He looked around him, aware of the stillness of the night. The sound of soft footsteps in the distance alerted him out of his thoughts, and he sat up.

"Who's there?" He asked, for he was beginning to see the looming form of someone approaching.

A timid voice spoke up. "Ragnar?"

"Yes," he replied, recognizing him at once.

"I…I have something to say." Hiccup inched closer, head hung. "I spoke out of term and I would like to apologize. I…I understand why you don't want me to enter, and I will respect your decision. It was my fault for shouting and I am sorry."

His words rung in the still air. Finally, Ragnar looked up, heart constricting. "No, Hiccup, it's not you at all. It's me."

"Ragnar, I—"

"Look, the only reason I said all those things was because…" He turned away sharply, fearful of admitting aloud, even to himself his true feelings. "I was afraid."

Hiccup stepped closer and Ragnar continued.

"I was afraid of losing you, just like I lost my family." There, he said it. He admitted it to someone for the first time ever. He….

Ragnar slowly bowed his head and buried his face in his hands, allowing himself to break down. As he felt the tears streak down his face, he didn't know whether to embrace this feeling or despise it. At any rate, it was there, and so was Hiccup; the boy who was now kneeling beside him. He felt a hand on his back, comforting him.

The story of his family and village poured out, and afterwards, the two boys sat in silence.

"I had no idea, Ragnar. I'm so sorry, I couldn't even imagine…"

Ragnar looked over at him. "You shouldn't have to. No one should have to imagine what happened that day." He cringed inwardly, and then was overcome by a wave of anger. "The Drakkaeins will pay for what they did. Even if it's the last thing I do, I assure you, I will find the men that killed my family and destroy them." His icy voice made Hiccup shudder.

"Ragnar, I don't even know what to say. You've lost so much that I don't even feel I have a place to say anything at all. But if I could say just one thing…" He locked eyes with Ragnar. "You've seen what hate can do. You've witnessed it firsthand. Don't let it consume you as it's consumed so many others. For if you do, it will destroy you inside."

Ragnar breathed heavily, not wanting to hear the truth that Hiccup spoke. He knew deep down he was right. But it was so much easier to hold on to the feeling that had kept him alive all these years. He didn't know if he was ready to let go of that. Nevertheless…

"Thank you, Hiccup. You're a fine soldier, and a true friend."

* * *

 **A/N: Hello out there to all my fine fanfic friends! It's Narniaqueen1300 here. Sooo, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and got some insight into Ragnar's character! Gotta admit, this was a pretty emotional chapter to write, but I loved every minute of it. Do you have any questions? I would love to hear feedback on what you guys all think! Thank you very much for all of your continued support! You guys are amazing! I would like to thank SapphireBlueSea, mc arno, and TheShardsOfDarkness2138 for giving the story or Thearizona a favorite and a follow.**

 **And here I am, the great Thearizona, all the way from camp. Yes I know I said I wouldn't be able to post, but I manage to find some wifi just so I could, for all you, my lovely readers!**


	11. Chapter 11

**A few things to remember:**

 **I don't own Hiccup, Toothless, or any other character from the HTTYD universe. I wish I did, but they are owned by Universal Studios and Cressida Cowell. I do however, own all new characters and locations in this story, except for one.**

 **Writing Style:**

This is Norse

 _This is_ _English_

 **This is** **Dragonese**

* * *

The two young men didn't say anything as they walked back through the forest surrounding the base.

"Go sign yourself up for the competition Hiccup." Ragnar said as they reached the edge of the base, breaking the silence.

"It's ok, I don't want to do it anymore. How about we just go hang out with Toothless and Wraith instead?" Hiccup replied, not really wanting to compete in the competition after what he had just heard. Once Hiccup finished talking, Ragnar grabbed his shoulder and spun him to a stop so they were facing each other.

"No, you wanted to enter it so you will enter it with my support." Ragnar told him in a stern voice.

"Seriously? I'm mean, do you really mean that?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm as serious as Ragnarok." Ragnar replied to his best friend that he secretly thought of as his brother.

"Ok, I will go sign up." Hiccup said to his best friend who he wished he looked up to like a older brother before walking away to go sign up for the marksman competition. He was just able to sign up before the signup sheet was filled up. As he was reading through the rules, he was grateful that it was going to be held on base in two days and that the shooter could use his own rifle and a spotter of his own picking. Hiccup knew that he would use Hefnd Nótt and that Ragnar would be his spotter. The next two days Hiccup spent with Ragnar in their private range at The Dragons Edge preparing for it. When the day of the competition came, the boys got to the range and were assigned their stall before moving down to it. As they walked by the stalls they saw some people the knew from on base and others they didn't, but one thing they all had in common was that they had been shooting for much longer then Hiccup as the youngest age was twenty five.

" _Look at this kid."_ Somebody said loudly as they walked past one of the first stalls. They had be assigned the last shooting stall, stall twenty eight, so the pair had to walk past everybody else and the one comment cause everybody to look. They all stared at the Hiccup as he walked past, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Hey, remember what I said, don't let 'em see that they are getting to you." Ragnar whispered to Hiccup as he noticed how the teen was looking at the ground. Hiccup looked up to see Ragnar staring each and every man down, causing some to go back to their station. While he didn't stare them down, Hiccup did bring his head up and stared straight ahead. Once they reach the end of the line they got to work setting up.

Ragnar got his spotters scope out of it's bag and set it up on a tripod while Hiccup pulled Hefnd Nótt out of it's bag and set it up on the ground along with a shooting blanket to lay on.

" _Ok, can I have everybody's attention please?"_ A voice said from behind them. Everybody turned around to see Colonel Ben standing next to an unknown person.

" _This is Major Heath and he will be the judge for this little competition."_ The Colonel said before backing away as the now named Major stepped forward.

" _Thank you Colonel. Now the shooting portion of this competition will be scored based and only the top three will move on to the next stage of the competition. The targets_ _are at a range of_ _one thousand four hundred meters."_ The Major said. " _Each of you will only receive four rounds per target. Now get back to your stalls and let's get this shoot started."_ Once he had finished, everybody did as instructed and turned back to their stalls and prepared to start shooting.

"Ok Hiccup, I know you got this, just as we have been practicing." Ragnar said to the young teen laying beside him.

"Got it." Came the reply as he finished loading his rifle.

" _Attention on the firing line, attention on the firing line; you may fire when ready."_ Major Heath's voice said as it came over the PA system. As soon as he finished talking, everybody opened fire. The sound of twenty eight different rifles all firing at once produced such a loud sound that the ear protection almost didn't block it all out.

 _CRACK_

"Low and to the left. Adjust one tick up and half tick right." Ragnar told Hiccup after his first shot.

 _CRACK_

"Just below the bullseye. Adjust quarter tick up"

 _CRACK_

"Bullseye."

 _CRACK_

"I don't see a new hole. Miss." Ragnar said to Hiccup after his final shot.

" _Make safe the range. Clear all rifles."_ The Heath once again said over the PA system. Once that was done, everybody walked out to their targets.

"I'm telling you, I know that last bullet hit the target." Hiccup told Ragnar.

"I didn't see any new holes on the target." Ragnar replied as they reached the target and looked it over. "Look, there are only three holes."

"How? I didn't move my rifle between shots though. What if..." Hiccup trailed off as he started to inspect the target closer.

"Hiccup, what are you doing?" Ragnar asked him.

"My fourth shot went through the same hole as my third shot. Look Ragnar, it's slightly misshapen to one side." Hiccup pointed out as he backed away so Ragnar could look. Ragnar looked at the hole in the bullseye for a second before backing away.

"By Thor, I have never seen that before."

" _Shooter 27, Hiccup Haddock, what's your count?"_ Major Heath asked as he walked up behind them.

" _Thirty seven sir."_ Hiccup responded to the Major.

" _Ok, you didn't place so you can return to your barracks."_

" _Where did I place sir?"_ Hiccup asked.

" _You came in sixth place, so good job making it that high up in the ranking. Keep practicing and maybe next time Hiccup."_

* * *

 **Six Months Later; One And A Half Years After Leaving Berk.**

 _CRACK_

"Direct hit, now try for the target to the back left of the last one." Ragnar said as he watched the targets through a spotting scope.

 _CRACK_

"Good effect on target. I guess we should move the targets further back before the next session eh?" Ragnar said to the shooter laying next to him after the final 'target', a small milk container from the mess hall, exploded in a flurry of white liquid.

"Ya, probably should. How about a further 100 meters?" Came the reply as the sniper started to put away his rifle.

"It's already at 1,700 meters[1] Hiccup, you think you could hit the targets?" Ragnar asked him.

"I know I can. I'm hitting those tiny things and it shouldn't be that much harder to hit something another 100 meters further back." Hiccup replied to him as he finished putting Hefnd Nótt away. Though it looked considerably different from when he got it. First of all, it was painted a non-reflective matte black to fit with Hiccup and Toothless's dead of night theme. Second, the stock scope had been replaced with a custom 4-20X50[2] scope. Finally, Hiccup had turned the butt of the rifle into a big magazine tube that feed the rifle and could hold twenty .338 Lapua Magnum rounds.

"You would be surprised." Ragnar said as they walked out of the range.

"Oh come on, you know I'm already one of the best shots on the base." Hiccup replied.

"Ya ya, I know, you can stop reminding me." Ragnar huffed as he rubbed his temple, trying to forget the day Hiccup had beat him, and everybody else attending, in a base wide shooting competition. After that they continued to walk in silence before they reached The Dragon's Edge.

"I'm going to put Nótt away before going to see Toothless, want to go?" Hiccup asked as they walked through the front doors.

"Yes I do. You have your Dragonstone on you right?" Ragnar asked as he followed Hiccup into the rooms, surprising the teen.

"How do you.."

"I uh, I might have one as well." Ragnar quietly said as he brought the stone out from where it was hanging on a chain around his neck. Unlike Hiccup, who only had a small blueish-white shard, Ragnar had a full stone which was blue with streaks of red running through it.

"Why did you keep this from me if you knew I had one?" Hiccup asked him.

Ragnar glanced away quickly.

Hiccup raised his brow at him.

Shrugging, Ragnar said, "It just didn't seem like the kind of thing that would need to be mentioned, I guess."

Hiccup stared at him, frowning. He feigned apathy. "Oh, well, I guess you're right. I mean, only a few people ever recorded have ever even found one, it being one of the rarest stones known to man. No biggie that you just so happen to possess one of them ." He kicked the cardigan that was laying on the ground under the bed.

"Hiccup-"

"I mean, it's not like I'm your best friend or anything…" Hiccup looked Ragnar in the eyes. "I guess I just thought that since I've shared everything with you, that…" He crossed his arms. "Oh, never mind. Let's go. Toothless and Wraith are waiting."

"Hiccup, would you just-" Ragnar started, but Hiccup was already out the door. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Ragnar followed Hiccup to the dragon cove.

Once he arrived, Ragnar found Hiccup leaning indolently against a shrub in the corner. The two dragons appeared to be napping under a tree. Arms crossed, Ragnar entered. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Why did he always have to be the one apologizing? It wasn't as if he had really done anything wrong, was it?

Yes, he had kept his possession of the dragonstone a secret, but not just from Hiccup, from everyone. Ragnar supposed that he understood a bit of why Hiccup was angry, but he didn't feel he had much of a right to be. After all, Ragnar had shared everything else. Why did Hiccup have to play these childish games? How would he ever advance if he was still affected by menial things that truly shouldn't matter?

Perhaps he should say something about that. A soldier has to be strong, both physically and mentally. Hiccup would have to break that cycle. He would have to-

" **Raaagnaaar** ," The voice of Wraith startled him out of his thoughts. He glanced up as Wraith fluttered and stretched his wings.

"What is it Wraith?"

" **You promised us a flight tonight, remember?** "

Ragnar looked at Hiccup, who refused to acknowledge his presence. Toothless interjected.

" **Did you two have a fight?** "

Silence.

" **Ahem, do I have to ask again?** " Toothless asked, sitting up. Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Maybe."

Toothless spoke up. " **Well, I'm feeling quite cramped in here, and I wish you two would make up so we could go soon.** " Hiccup and Ragnar didn't respond to him, they just kept sitting with their backs to each other.

" **Ok, that's it. I have had enough of waiting for you two to stop acting like hatchlings. Now you two either get over it on your own or Toothless and I will make you cause we want to go flying.** " Wraith said after a few minutes of them just sitting and looking away from each other. That statement got the two teens to at least look at each other, but no move was made to get up and reconcile what had happened.

"Why do we have to get over it to go flying?" Hiccup muttered.

" **Because we don't want to be out flying while you two are angry at each other.** " Toothless said with Wraith's agreement.

" **Ok, that's it. Toothless, grab Hiccup and bring him over here.** " Wraith said after still no movement. Toothless did as he was instructed and brought a protesting Hiccup over to where Wraith was preventing Ragnar from escaping. " **Ok listen; in the year and a half you two have know each other you have grown extremely close, like brothers. Now I don't know what went on before you came in here, but there is no reason your two should be all bent out of shape like you are. We don't get to choose if something good or bad happens to use, it just happens, but we do get to choose how we respond to it and it's how you respond that makes you a good or bad person.** "

With that statement, both the boys realized that what he had said was true. Hiccup didn't ask to be born a useless talking fishbone just as much as Ragnar didn't ask for his whole tribe to be killed. They were uncontrollable events that just happened.

"Soooo I'm sorry I went off on you like that..." Hiccup start. Store being interrupted.

"Stop, it wasn't your fault; I should have told you sooner." Ragnar told him.

" **Are we going to go flying now that your two have made up?** " Toothless asked, anxious to get in the air.

Yes we can go flying now you overgrown lizard." Hiccup said as he stood up, only to have Toothless head appear between his legs and toss him into the saddle just as Wraith did the same thing. Once they rushed out off the Dragon's Edge, they flew as erratically as they wanted, letting the stress of the day melt away.

"Hiccup, Toothless, there is something I wanted to tell you guys." Ragnar said once they settled out.

"Wh **at?** " They both answered in unison.

"Well, your basic training is complete Hiccup so congrats. What that means is for the next six months you AND Toothless will be going through the advance training." Ragnar told them.

"Meaning what?" Hiccup asked.

"Meaning you two will be trained together to act as a well oiled machine no matter the conditions you may find yourselves in; as well as some other things as well." He explained as the kept on flying.

"When do we start?" Hiccup asked him, excited about the prospect.

"Tomorrow. So we should probably head back and get a good night's sleep." Ragnar said before directing Wraith back towards the base.

* * *

 **[1] 1700 meters is roughly 1.056 miles.**

 **[2] 4-20X50 means it is a variable zoom, from times 4 through times 20 zoom and the lens itself has a 50 mm diameter.**

 **Why hello ello ello, what do we have here? Is this a new chapter I see? Why yes, yes it is. So what do you guys think? I originally wasn't going to add in the competition, but OechsnerC asked about it and changed my mind so I added it. Plus it now flows smoother than before. also for those of you wondering about updates, I have no schedule but will post something to my Facebook page if it is taking longer. So if you want update info, link is in my Bio.**

 **Thank you time! A huge thank you to Retrokill, Vrieling99, Winters Storms, amichalap, ArmyGamer25, InsaneEntity, jiji-kitten, Sayd, EPIC DANCEPARTY133, BACONOVERLORD13, and HalfwayParanoid for giving this story and/or myself a favorite and/or a follow.**

 **So anybody wondering, the last part of Wraith speech is my interpretation of a quote from another** **HTTYD** **Fanfiction story. I don't remember the name of the story or the author, so I can** **'t** **tell you. Though if you have read it, or are the author of said story, I did not mean to steal it. It fit so well and I didn't cut and paste the text** **, I wrote it out of memory** **.** **That one character mentioned at the start? That would Major Heath, who is a Spartan in SupremeCommander's Halo stories, which he let me use for mine.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12...sorry this took so long, explanation at the end.**

* * *

"Two years ago you showed up out of the blue, looking more like a wet noodle then what you do right now." Colonel Underson said to Hiccup as the teen stood at attention in front of him. "And over those two years you grew in your training so much that it is my please to present you with these." At that moment the Colonel pinned the USAF Special Operations pin on the left lapel of Hiccups dress uniform and the Night Fury programs pin right underneath it. The Night Fury Programs pin consisted of the Strike class symbol with two grey M16's crisscrossed behind it with a red background and the words 'Night Fury Program' in gold Norse runes on a white background printed around the edge of the circle. After returning Hiccups salute, he backed away and Ragnar stepped in front of him.

"Congratulations Hiccup on finishing training." Ragnar said as he walked in front of the teen with something in his hand. "Now it's my pleasure to present you with these." At that time Ragnar revealed what was in his hand. It was two individual silver bar pins. Hiccup just stood still as Ragnar pinned them to his collar. It was at that time that the Colonel walked back up to the pair.

"Congratulations First Lieutenant Haddock." The Colonel said before giving him a salute.

"Thank you sir." Hiccup replied as he returned the salute.

"At ease Hiccup, the ceremony is over. Now go have a good time and celebrate your graduation and commission with Ragnar and Toothless. Not only have you earned it but it's an order as well." Ben said to the teen as they both relaxed out of the salute.

"Yes sir, and sir?" Hiccup asked as the Colonel turned to leave.

"Yes Hiccup?" Ben responded as he stopped and turned back towards the teen

"Thank you sir." Hiccup told him.

"What for? And you can stop with the sirs for now." Ben said, slightly annoyed with listening to the sirs after he had told Hiccup to go have fun.

"Yes sir," Hiccup said, to the annoyance of the Colonel, "Thank you for taking me in when I arrived. It was nice to find a place where I was wanted."

"You're welcome Hiccup, now go celebrate cause you sure as hell earned it. Oh, and when you are finished with that then Ragnar will show you around the local city." Ben said before he turned and walked out of the conference room in The Dragon's Edge.

"Come on Hiccup, let's go have some fun on base before going to Anchorage. Though if we drive anywhere, you're not driving!" Ragnar told him as they got into the elevator to go down to the "Jungle", the room where the dragon's stayed.

"Oh come on, why not? I'm not that bad at driving, am I?" Hiccup asked him.

"You're not bad, but you're not good either." Ragnar replied as they walked out of the elevator.

" **What isn't Hiccup good at?** " Toothless asked as both he and Wraith were waiting by the elevator doors for their riders.

"Driving." Came the response, which brought a laugh from the two dragons.

"Oh come on guys, I'm not bad at driving!" Hiccup said, still trying to defend his driving abilities.

" **Right, and I have both of my tail fins. By Draco Hiccup, you're a horrid driver; don't you remember that day?** " Toothless said to him.

 **-** _ **Start Flashback-**_

"What are we going to do today Ragnar?" Hiccup asked the boy as they walked out of The Dragons Edge with the dragons following behind them.

Ragnar stopped and turned to face the boy. "Well, Hiccup, today we will be learning a skill that will be not only beneficial, but necessary to your life in the modern world."

"I say again, what are we doing today?" Hiccup said with sarcasm flying off the words like dragons away from eels.

"Well my friend," He slapped his hand on Hiccup's shoulder as he gestured to a HMMWV, or Humvee, sitting just outside the building. "Today I will be teaching you how to drive."

"About time! I didn't think you got all the hints I was dropping."

Ragnar cocked an eyebrow. "I caught that the other day when you almost took the wheel when I was driving. Nearly caused an accident. Not to mention all the sticky notes you left 'anonymously' in the dorm saying, 'teach your friend how to drive'. But anyways," He strolled over to the vehicle and opened the driver door. "Hop in."

" **Wait wait wait, why does Hiccup need to know how to drive?** " Toothless asked as Hiccup went to get into the driver's seat. Before Hiccup could get in however, Toothless blocked him with his wing. " **I demand an answer and I demand it now.** "

Hiccup patted him reassuringly.

"Hey, buddy, it'll be ok. What is this thing you have against driving anyway? Ever since I brought it up a while ago you've hardly spoken to me."

Toothless sat up, offended. " **Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I just don't see why you need to know how to drive when you have me.** "

"Because what if he is separated from you? Or he is in a place that you can't be? He will need to know how just in case." Ragnar told him

" **Well, first of all, we** _ **should not**_ **be separated, and second of all, what would Hiccup be doing in a place that doesn't allow dragons? Unless he's trying to** _ **desert**_ **me.** "

"It's fine you big baby boo, I would never dream of deserting you. Now remember, the outside world doesn't know about us and they can't, so you and Wraith have to stay hidden if we ever visit a city." Hiccup explained to him.

Toothless sighed dramatically and backed away from the car, allowing Hiccup to get inside, Ragnar joining him in the passenger seat. " **Fiiiiiine**..."

With Toothless finally out of the way and both the boys in the car, Ragnar began teaching Hiccup how to drive.

"Now, the first thing you'll do is to look at the floor. Do you see the pedals?"

Hiccup gave him another sarcastic glare. "Duh, of course I see the pedals, do I look blind?"

"Don't get smart with me, now pay attention. Do you know which pedal does what?"

"Well one is the gas and the other is the brake. I mean, how hard could this be?"

Ragnar sighed. "Well, I see I have my work cut out for me."

Once he had finished explaining the basic operating procedures of the car, Ragnar said, "Alright, time for you to give her a spin. Feeling confident?"

"Psh, yeah. Should be a piece of cake." Hiccup said as he started the Humvee, causing the V8 Diesel engine to come roaring to life, sending toothless scurrying back a few feet.

"Good, now depressing the brake pedal and shift in drive." Ragnar instructed him, and Hiccup did as he was told. "Good, now shift your foot from the brake to the gas and give it some gas." Once again Hiccup did as instructed but instead of moving forward, all that happened was the engine revving up to around 4,000 RPM. The sudden roar of the engine sent Toothless flying back another 15 feet. Before Ragnar could say anything, Hiccup noticed his mistake.

"Oops, I put it in neutral, let me just shift into drive." He said as he shifted the gear before Ragnar could stop him. Once he let the shifter go and the gears engaged, the almost three-ton vehicle jumped forward, scaring everybody.

"BRAKE, BRAKE!" Ragnar shouted at Hiccup as he held onto anything he could find with his sweaty palms, heart pounding as the car started to fishtail out of control. Once Hiccup recovered from the jolt of the initial acceleration, he slammed his feet down on the brake pedal as hard as he could. This was the worst thing he could have done as it caused the wheels to lock up and reduce the amount of traction they had with the ground, causing the Humvee to start spinning. When it finally came to a stop, Hiccup's door was ripped off and said teen was dragged from the car by an overprotective Night Fury.

On the other side of the vehicle, Ragnar busted his own door open and proceeded to vomit on the pavement. Once the episode was over, he wiped his mouth and turned shakily towards Hiccup, all the while steadying himself on the car. He couldn't say a word. Meanwhile, Toothless had no problem in finding his voice. " **SEE! I TOLD you it was a bad idea! Right from the start. But did anybody listen to me? I say again, did anybody even listen?!** "

No response came from Hiccup as he turned to Ragnar, expecting to get the lecture of his life. Instead Ragnar walked heavily towards him. Once he was face to face, he just shook his head slowly, his sunken eyes boring into the lad. After a long moment of silence, he spoke. "We're done for today. I'm not going through that again." And with that, he turned and walked away in the direction of the building. Once there however, he paused, and leaning over a bush, he retched some more. That was the last time Hiccup and Ragnar went driving until much later; even then his driving skills left much to be desired so they made an agreement to let Ragnar do all the driving.

 _ **-End Flashback-**_

"Ok fine, I will admit I'm not as good of a driver as I thought I was." Hiccup said once they all finished thinking about that day.

" **Thank you! About time you admitted it.** " Toothless said.

"Let's go flying, I want to show you some before we leave tomorrow." Ragnar said as he came up next to them on Wraith.

"Ok, let me get Toothless's gear on him." Hiccup said as he went to grab Toothless saddle and tailfin. Over the years it had changed a lot since the pair had arrived from Berk. First off, the leather that made up the tailfin was replaced with a matte black Aramid-Kevlar blended weave. That made the new tail stronger than the leather and allowed it to blend in with Toothless existing tailfin, making it seem that he wasn't missing one, as well as being fire proof. Secondly, all the iron was replaced with a strong-lightweight aluminum alloy and the rope for the tailfin with a high strength Kevlar rope. All of these changes made the rig not only lighter but stronger as well, allowing the pair to go faster, do more daring tricks and make tighter turns than before.

" **Come on Hiccup, I want to go flying!** " Toothless said as he waited impatiently for Hiccup to finish.

"Almost...there, I'm done you impatient lizard." Hiccup replied as he finished up before getting in the saddle. "Now where are we going Ragnar?"

"Before we go there tomorrow, I want to take you on a fly over of Anchorage."

"Ok, then why are we still sitting here? I want to see how the world has come along with my own eyes instead of through a textbook." As soon as Hiccup said that they took off.

"You might want to settle in, this is going to take a while. It's about 350 miles so we should be there in about two and a half hours." Ragnar told Hiccup once they got to a cruising altitude before he settled into a comfortable long distance flying position. Hiccup copied him in getting into a position that would be more comfortable for both dragon and rider over long distances. On the way their Hiccup kept pestering Ragnar with questions about what Anchorage was like to such a point that Ragnar threatened to make them turn around if he didn't stop asking him. Needless to say, Hiccup was quiet for the rest of the flight after that happened.

"Ok Hiccup, Toothless, when we get there I want you guys to follow me directly over the city then we will set down on the far side and rest up before you and me go in tomorrow." Ragnar said as they got closer to the city.

"Copy that Ragnar." Hiccup said a few seconds before the cleared the mountain range that surrounded the land side of the port city. When they passed over that range they saw the city with all its lights shining in the night. Hiccup was in a slight state of awe for finally being able to see it with his own eyes. It was a beautiful city due to its natural element in and around the city as well as the simplicity of the buildings.

"So what do you think about what you saw in the fly over?" Ragnar asked Hiccup once they had landed a few miles outside of the city.

"It was amazing. It's a lot more satisfying to see it in person then it is to see in it a book. I can't wait to see it from ground level." Came the reply from the teen as he got his sleeping bag out of his pack and rolled it out on Toothless's outstretched wing.

"Good to hear. Now remember, when we go into town tomorrow your name is not Hiccup, it's Henry and we are just two Airmen on leave. We don't want anybody to ask any question. Now get some sleep."

"Yes Sir." With that they both fell to sleep in the warmth of their dragon's wings. The next day they both got up, though one was more excited than the other. They packed the sleeping bags back into its spot on the saddle and straightened their Air Force fatigues before telling the dragons to stay put and out of sight. They then walked into town on East Tudor Road for a few minutes with cars passing them.

"Now do you remember what I told you last night?" Ragnar asked him before they really got into town.

"Yes Sir, my name is Henry and you and me are just some Airmen from the local base out on a one-day pass. No talking about Toothless, Wraith, or anything of that manner." Came the reply from Hiccup.

"And it would be best if we spoke in English."

" _Yes Sir_." And with that they kept walking into town. They made into town and just walked around for a few minutes before crossing over Lake Otis Parkway and then Seward Highway. Hiccup was just taking in all he could. Even though Anchorage didn't have the same size, population and feel as a big city such as San Francisco or Los Angeles; it was enough for Hiccup who had never seen something like that before. They just walked around almost all day before deciding to leave. As they took a right off of C Street Hiccup accidentally ran into a teenager who was walking the opposite direction of them, knocking both of them to the ground.

" _I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming around the corner._ " The young man said as Ragnar helped both of them up.

" _Hey it's alright. I should have been paying more attention as well._ " Hiccup replied. It was then that the boy looked up from collecting himself to see who it was that he had knocked into.

" _Oh my gosh, I'm really sorry Sir. I had no idea you guys were around to corner._ " He said noticing they were both Air Force Officers.

" _Don't worry about, I told you it was ok. Nothing hurt, see._ " Hiccup said as he spun around to show the teen that nothing had happened. " _What's your name?_ "

" _Dylan Sir._ " He replied. He looked a lot like Hiccup had before he had joined the Night Fury Program. Average height and on the skinny side of things and about the same age as well. He was now dwarfed by the two six foot men standing in front of him. While Hiccup had grown in height significantly, his body mass had only gone up in proportion to his height.

" _You can stop with the Sirs, you're not a subordinate. My name is Henry and this here is Rex._ " Hiccup said, introducing the pair to Dylan before sticking his hand out for a handshake, which the boy returned.

" _Are you guys from the local base?_ "

" _Yes we are, we're just walking around the town._ " Ragnar responded to him. They then just stood there on the street corner and talked for the next couple of minutes about nice places around town and what it was like to be in the military.

" _Well I should really be going. I don't want to be late home._ " Dylan said.

" _Oh then by all means, don't let us keep you up Dylan. See you around."_ Hiccup said to the teen they had been talking with.

" _Bye!_ " Dylan shouted as he rushed pasted them.

"Nice kid." Hiccup said after they had started walking back down East Tudor Road to where the dragons had hidden out for the day.

"Yes he was, kind of reminded me of a younger you." Ragnar replied, hoping for a reaction from Hiccup.

"Yes he does." Came the reply, but not the one Ragnar was expecting to hear as Hiccup had seen what he was doing. "Let's just get back to the dragons and get back to base. We can have our argument there."

"Fine, but I won't forget about it like last time!" Ragnar said as he realized what Hiccup was doing.

"Whatever you say Sir." Hiccup replied with a smile, know what pushed Ragnar's buttons and him calling the man Sir was one of them.

"Why you, Get back here!" Came the reply as the took off running down the street to the dragons.

* * *

 **Done, finished, over. THIS CHAPTER HAS BEEN FINISHED! Hurray! You all get magical internet cookies for being such patient readers. Now for the reason this is out "late". I'm now at College! Hurray! So I don't know if that means I will have more or less time to write, but we will see as we go. So how did you like the Hiccup learning to drive scene? We thought it would be funny to add in there and had planned it from chapter five I believe. So thoughts? Liked it, hated it, loved it, despised it? Please give us some feedback because we love hearing from you guys!**

 **Thank you time! Thank you to ChimaTigon, Retrokill, and StrawHatChopper for the story or personal favorite/follow. Oh, and a shout out to NatBlake for helping me with visuals of Anchorage. Him and Google Maps really helped. Even though all the info I could find was for nowadays, I tried to only give enough that it would seem plausible for 1989.**

 **Now I know there are some of you wondering, next chapter will be another "Back to Berk" section as well as the longest time jump of the story. Just letting you know now, it's a full year. Ya, up till here it's been six months and now it's a year. There is a very good reason for it, so just wait and read. I guess until then,**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	13. Chapter 13

Three years had gone by since Hiccup had left Berk and while it had been three years of growth for him, for his former home it had not been as kind. Without Hiccup there too help out in the forge, Gobber got backlogged with work and whenever he tried to take a new apprentice, almost all of them failed. Snotlout wouldn't stop showing off or trying to flirt with Astrid whenever she brought her axe in while Fishlegs would spend more time in his books then helping in the actual forge itself and reading never did him any good as he didn't have the hands on experience.

Gobber didn't even tried with the Twins as he knew that they would only work once Ragnarok started. That left Astrid, who was always training to become a better warrior and shield maiden of Berk. Whenever she wasn't training, she would often come into the forge to help Gobber sharpen the weapons. Sometimes she would go into Hiccups backroom at the forge to relax as it was the only place, outside of her own room, that she could. She didn't know why she felt that way, she just did. Maybe it was that she and Hiccup used to be friends before he received his nickname of useless, or that he had never hit on her like Snotlout does.

Only now was not one of those times; now was a dragon raid. Since Hiccup had left, Astrid was the technical winner of dragon training. Though she didn't get to kill the Nightmare as it had gotten away during all the confusion at the time, her first kill happened during the next raid. As the raids went on she got one or two kills per raid until one day, about a year and a half ago, when she was out training in the woods, a red Deadly Nadder landed in front of here with its tail spines raised and ready to fight. Before the two could fight, a blue Nadder came out of the forest behind Astrid and stood in between the two, protecting Astrid from the other Nadder. Astrid just stood there and watched as the two dragons fought each other.

The blue Nadder seemed to win the fight as the red one flew away with a screech. Astrid then prepared to fight with the winner but all it did was fly away after giving her a look of longing when it noticed she still had her axe up and ready to fight. Since that day she had even more doubts about the dragons with what she knew of how Hiccup left. Since that day she hadn't killed a dragon in any raids, just fought them enough to get them to leave without any of the Berkians food.

"Hey babe, look at how well I can protect and provide for you!" Snotlout said as he rushed past Astrid to take on a Gronkle that was in front of her. That was the seventh time during that raid that he had done that and it finally caused her to snap at him. She threw her axe so that it skimmed right off the top of his helmet, knocking him to the ground.

"See, I knew you needed me to help protect you! You can't even throw an axe straight, you hit me instead of the dragon." Snotlout said as he picked himself off the ground to see her standing next to him picking up her axe.

"I wasn't aiming for the dragon." Astrid muttered under her breath as she walked away from him to find another dragon to 'fight'. She wandered around the village for a few minutes before she found herself following Stoick for a few minutes as the raid ended with the rising sun. The chief looked around the village and gave out a few orders to get the village up and running after the raid before he walked back to his house and shut the door. Sometimes people would hear his voice or crying coming from his house. He had started doing this about a year earlier and nobody, except for maybe Gobber, knew why he did it.

* * *

"Hiccup, Toothless, Wraith! I got some news you guys might want to hear." Ragnar said as he walked out of the elevator and into the forest. He knew they were in there as it was a favorite place for them to hang out. Ragnar waited around near the entrance to the elevator for a few seconds before he heard a rustling coming from his left.

" **News? I hope it's good news.** " Toothless said as the three of them came out of a few bushes.

"Well, it's news. I don't know if it's good or not." Ragnar said to them as Wraith walked up behind him and laid down, allowing the young man to sit back against him as Hiccup and Toothless did the same thing.

" **What is it Ragnar?** " Wraith asked him.

"We are being deployed." Ragnar replied back.

"Really? Where to?" Hiccup asked, not really knowing how he should feel. He knew he was trained as a soldier and that meant he could be deployed. Though due to the secretive nature of Wraith and Toothless, they were not really expected to deploy like any other special forces team.

"The Middle East, Iraq to be precise."

"What are we going to be doing? Or do you not know?" Hiccup asked.

"The Iraqis invaded Kuwait and now a US lead coalition is planning to take it back. The reason we are going in is to search and destroy Iraqi SCUD launchers. They are being used to terror bomb the area around where coalition forces are." Ragnar informed them.

"Ok, when are we leaving?" Hiccup asked, not liking acts of terror or bullying for the obvious reasons.

"We leave in twelve hours, so tomorrow at 0700 hours. All four of us are getting on a C-130 that is bound for a FOB where we will fly out to our patrol sector."

"Copy that."

" **So what exactly are we doing?** " Toothless asked Ragnar. " **I know what search and destroy is but what are we** _ **exactly**_ **are we doing over there?** "

"We will be flying around and looking for Iraqi SCUD launchers and when we find them we destroy them. Hopefully it's before they can launch their rockets." Ragnar responded to the dragon.

"How about one final night flight before we leave for war?" Hiccup suggested to everybody. Looking around he got a collective nod from everybody and so they all mounted up and flew out the building and into the night sky. They stayed out flying in the night sky for a few hours till they returned and got some sleep, even though they would have nothing to do on the plane ride to the Middle East. The next morning the woke up and got onto the C-130 as the only living passengers as to maintain the secrecy of the program. It took them about half the day to fly from their base to the FOB in the Middle East.

"Are we going to stay on the plane or is there a place for the dragons?" Hiccup asked Ragnar as they came in for a landing.

"We are going to stay in the plane till night time and then leave. Just be prepared for the heat."

"Ok." Hiccup responded as they landed. There was nothing for them to do as they waited a few hours for night to fall before they could leave.

"Are you ready to go?" Ragnar asked Hiccup and Toothless as Hiccup finished looking over his and his dragons gear. There was the special holster for his rifle, the saddlebags for his gear and supplies, and the radio. The one special point of note for him to check was a new radio that the two young men had worked on together that would be small and light enough to not affect the dragons flight, yet have a large enough range that they can talk to each other from a fair distance away.

"Yes Sir." Hiccup responded as he finished.

"What about you guys? You ready for this?" Ragnar now asked the dragons.

" **Ya, we're ready** " Wraith responded after the looked at each other.

"Good, then let's get going." Ragnar said as they walked out of the back door of the C-130 before taking off into the sky and off to the north towards their search area. They flew for a few minutes before they heard a roaring sound and saw a light fly up into the sky and turn south, towards Coalition lines.

"Hiccup, go intercept that missile while I take care of the launcher." Ragnar ordered out over the radio as he dived towards the ground and the mobile launcher.

"Come on bud, let's go get it." Hiccup said too Toothless as they turned to intercept it.

" **Gotcha!** " Toothless responded, getting closer to the missile. The got closer to the missile and Hiccup gave Toothless a signal they had come up with for him to fire. Toothless fired a plasma blast at the SCUD missile, blowing it to pieces.

"Good shot Toothless!"

" **Thanks!** "

"No let's go find Ragnar and Wraith." Hiccup said so they turned back towards where they came from.

"Ragnar, you there?" Hiccup asked over the radio, looking for the pair. There was only static on the channel.

"Right here." Hiccup heard Ragnar said, but it came from above him so he looked up to see them flying upside down above them. It was the first time that either of them had been in such a situation so Hiccup was concerned for his adoptive brother. After doing a quick visual inspection when he saw his friend and saw there was no visual injuries, he relaxed internally.

"Good to see you're ok." Hiccup said, with Toothless grunting in agreement.

"Same, now let's finish getting to our section." Once Ragnar and Wraith flipped right side up and got next to them they kept on flying towards their search section.

* * *

 **Hello all, so we finally get to the part that I was thinking of when I first got the idea for this story. Well, actually it was Hiccup and Toothless flying side by side with a F-15 but then it got to them being a part of the anti-SCUD launcher spec ops teams during the Gulf War. So what do you guys think? Like it, don't like it? So ya, we see the start of somethings back on Berk.**

 **Thank you time! Thank you Mei1395, keiko689, ajna12, NightFury2413, Norse Kode, kirajefferson95, and ZGMF-25 Strike Hawk (I swear you people have the best of names!) for the favorite/follow of either the story or me. You people are awesome!**

 **So in case you are not a personal follower, I have posted a new HTTYD story called "For the Deaf and the Telepath". It was an idea that got stuck in my head during my ASL class and well it's explained there. So this is a two-part informational text. Part one was to tell you guys, and if everybody who has read it is to believe, it's a fantastic story. Part two was to tell you guys that because I now have two stories, I will be alternating writing. I will write a chapter for "Moving On", then "For the Deaf and the Telepath".**

 **Guest from Ch. 2 (I hope you're reading this): (reading) liking the story so far. (reading more) and now hiccup can talk to toothless. .. Yep I'm done with this story. I'm sure the story is good but I see no point in why hiccup needs to understand toothless when hiccup can already do that by reading toothless's body language.**

 **Yes, Hiccup can sort of understand Toothless by interpreting his body language, but during the first film when this is set it is not as easy for him, and it's not completely accurate. Another reason of allowing this is where I am taking the story. There are just too much that would need to be said that body language couldn't send out. There is a secondary reason for adding the Dragonstone into the story. Though it may or may not come into the story later on.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello there everybody! Here we go with another chapter in Moving On.**

 **Warning! This chapter is set during the days and hours leading up to the Gulf War, if you served during that time, or in the part of the world, first I would like to thank you and second, if you don't want to read this as it may bring back some bad memories I completely understand. There is also some pretty nasty descriptions of violence and death as well as language...so basically why this has a T rating, so be forewarned.**

* * *

"Do you see anything?" Ragnar asked as they were flying patrol over their section of Iraq looking for SCUD launchers. They had been in the same area for about four weeks and this would be their last night on patrol before leaving for home before the invasion started. During that time, they had used ambush tactics and never had to leave dragon back.

"I think we might might have one at my 3 o'clock." Hiccup replied, pointing down towards the general area of the potential launcher. Ragnar and Wraith both looked over in that direction to confirm what Hiccup and Toothless had seen. Sure enough, there was a SCUD launcher sandwiched between a BTR-60 and a M35 2½-ton cargo truck knock off.

"You take out the BTR, I will take out the launcher and then we can tag team the Deuce and a Half." Ragnar said to Hiccup as he was the most senior of the two and therefore in charge of the mission.

"Copy that." Hiccup responded as he broke away from Ragnar so they would attack to convoy from separate sides so the Iraqis wouldn't get lucky and get them both and so they wouldn't know which side they were coming from. They had adopted that tactic once the Iraqis started to escort any SCUD launcher that came in or through their territory. They both got lined up on their targets and began their approach; the high pitched shrill that the Night Fury makes when it powers up a shot started to ring out across the desert sky.

The Iraqis heard the noise and started to react to it, their eyes and guns pointed up towards the sky in preparation for the attack. They started to scan the sky, looking for the two boys and their Night Fury's. They wouldn't have the chance to fire a shot as Toothless and Wraith let their plasma shots go and instantly pulled up. Those plasma shots flew straight and true and hit their intended targets. Toothless's plasma blast hit the BTR-60 first, punching clean through the upper plate. Right through the driver's hatch. The drivers head was instantly vaporizing and the plasma blast kept going through the vehicle, severely burning everybody inside the armored vehicle before it came into contact with the engine and fuel tank, blowing the vehicle to Valhalla.

Wraiths shot hit the SCUD just as Toothless's shot was vaporizing the driver's head. Like Toothless's, Wraiths shot hit the fuel tank of the SCUD missile, causing it to ignite and create a chain reaction which blew up the high explosive warhead, destroying the SCUD launcher and mangling the front of the following truck. The driver and passenger as well as ten Iraqis who jumped out of the back of the Deuce and a Half started scanning the sky, taking shots at anything that they thought was moving.

"Hiccup, we better start shooting back before they actually hit something." Ragnar said to the teen as he aimed his M16A2 down range at the Iraqis and opened fire. Hiccup pulled Hefnd Nótt out of its holster and also aimed down range at the Iraqis and opened fire at them. The two young men managed to kill six of the twelve Iraqis before things started going wrong.

" **ARGH!** " Wraith cried out in pain, though to anybody without a Dragonstone it just sounded like an angry screech. The pair were down lower to the ground due to Ragnar having an M16A2 instead of a M24A3 like Hiccup.

"Hiccup, Toothless, Wraith was hit, we're going down!" Ragnar cried out in alarm as the pair started to flutter down to the ground.

"Hold on guys! We'll be right there!" Hiccup shouted at them as Toothless and him dove after them. Due to the difference in altitude, they made it to the ground a few second after Wraith and Ragnar touched down. Just as they landed, 7.62 mm rounds started snapping and hissing past them as the Iraqi soldiers started to fire at them now that they were on the ground and not able to blend into the night sky. The team got lucky as they had landed just behind a small sand berm that protected them from the bullets.

"Hiccup, we got to take care of these guys before we can patch up Wraith!" Ragnar shouted at him as they snuggled up next to berm and he reloaded his M16A2.

"Roger that Ragnar." Hiccup said just before he popped over to top and hit two of the Iraqis while Ragnar managed to hit one, leaving three Iraqi troops for them to deal with. Those three troops decided to charge at the boys and their dragons. The first clue that the boys got was when they heard the Iraqis start yelling. Hiccup looked up and over the berm just in enough time to see the three men running over the other side.

"Look out!" Hiccup shouted out a warning to Ragnar just as the Iraqis came running over the top of the berm. Toothless managed to hit one in the chest with a plasma blast, cutting the man in two, before they got too close to Hiccup and Ragnar to fire a blast at. Hiccup tossed Hefnd Nótt to the side, pulled out his M9 pistol and managed to hit the enemy combatant charging him in the gut; the man just kept going though, ignoring the bullet wound.

"Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!" Hiccup shouted as the man who was charging him went to stab him with a bayonet attached to the end of his AK-47. Hiccup leapt to the left, causing the man to miss and stumble past him. Just as the Iraqi was recovering, he turned to see Hiccup leveling his sidearm at the man and then the flash of the gun firing before nothing. After Hiccup shot the man in the head, he turned to find the other and found him with a rather large dagger winning his fight against Ragnar, who was missing his helmet. Before Hiccup could think about what was happening he found himself reacting out of fear for his brother. The pistol in his hand was leveled at the final Iraqi and Hiccup fired at him, emptying the magazine into the man as he ran the few feet over to where they were fighting.

"Hiccup! It's ok! I'm fine, look!" Ragnar said as he intercepted Hiccup in a hug just before he could reach the now very dead man. Hiccup looked over at Ragnar and a sense of relief rushed through him and his hardened facial expression relaxed. Immediately Hiccup fell to the ground and emptied his stomach of all of its contents. Even though this wasn't his first kill, it was the first kill that he had done at short range by himself. "Hiccup, are you doing ok?"

"Ya I'm...I'm fine." Hiccup responded as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and stood up. "Let's go check on Wraith."

"Are you sure?" Asked Ragnar with concern heavily laced into his voice as he grabbed Hiccup by the arm and staring him straight in the eyes.

"Yes I'm fine. Let's just check up on Wraith so we can get out of here." Hiccup reinforced as he shook himself free and walked over to the dragons. It was then that Ragnar notice Hefnd Nótt was laying in the sand next to his helmet so he went and picked them up before walking over to where the rest of his team was waiting. He slipped the rifle back into its holster and his helmet on his head before giving Toothless a pat on the neck as he walking over to Wraith and Hiccup.

"How's he doing?" Ragnar asked.

" **Oh I'm just fine. Nothing like getting shot in the tail to wake a dragon up.** " Wraith said in a sarcastic tone. Hiccup just patted him before turning to Ragnar.

"Besides a damaged ego, it's just a flesh wound that will heal on its own in a few days. I wrapped it up so He should be able to fly, though I would suggest breaks ever now and again just to be safe." Hiccup said, though Ragnar could tell there was something else on his mind.

"Hiccup, what's going on?" Ragnar asked him, trying to get the truth.

"Nothing, just, let's get out of here before any Iraqi reinforcements arrive ok?" Hiccup responded as he walked over and hopped onto Toothless.

"OK," Ragnar said with a defeated tone as he climbed onto Wraith, "when you're ready to tell me, just remember I'm here for you. You can't keep that shit bottled up forever Hiccup. It will eat you from the inside out." Hiccup just nodded as they took off and headed towards Coalition lines so they could head back home as the invasion, Operation Desert Storm, would start in two days and they had to make it back to the airbase and out of there before then.

They would have to stop every now and again to check Wraith's tail but other than that they flew all night in silence. The plane they had flown in on was still there with the tail ramp down so they flew straight into the back of the big cargo plane. Once in they closed the back hatch and signaled the pilots that they were aboard and ready to get into the air and head back to Anders Air Force Base. Ragnar sat across from Hiccup and kept waiting for the boy to say something, but Hiccup didn't say anything. He just leaned back into Toothless and both of them fell asleep, something they never did on plane flights.

"Oh Hiccup, I wish you would tell me what's bothering you." Ragnar said to himself as he leaned back against Wraith to get some rest as well.

" **You know he's a stubborn boy. He's nineteen and technically a Viking. Is there any worse combination?** " Wraith piped up as Ragnar settled back against him.

"True. What are we going to do? I can't let whatever is bugging Hiccup keep eating away at him, but I know if I push too hard he will never tell me." Ragnar said slightly downtrodden by the thought of not being able to help Hiccup through whatever it was that he was going through.

" **Give him some time, I'm sure he will come around. If he doesn't then let's get Toothless involved. He will make sure Hiccup gets help whether the boy wants it or not.** "

"Okay, let's do that then. Now how about we get some sleep?" Ragnar said, punctuating it with a yawn.

" **Fine by me.** " Was the response as the two laided down and fell asleep, worry on the mind of both man and dragon.

* * *

 **Well, that was a fun/interesting chapter to write. I hope you all enjoyed it! So age wise, Hiccup left Berk about a month before his 16th Birthday, which is why he is 19 here as this is three years later. Also, Ragnar is a year and six months older, so right now he is 20, but will be 21 before the year is out. Just thought y'all should know that. Now to that thanks and guest review section!**

 **A huge Thank You to Retrokill, Toothless lover 13, Nomi Rida, IceFireHeartandSoul, ikariandcontestshippingforever, RiderOfTheFallenHorse, make up something, MasterOvi03, Sommer3Butter, Lucys2016, and Schoollie for the favorite/follow of this story, or me as an author.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **zero fullbuster:** **Thanks, I know I haven't really be replying to you so thanks for keeping up the reviews! To answer your question, yes. Hiccup will be returning to Berk. The question is when? The answer to that question is a few chapters. Three at the latest, one at the earliest. It all depends on how NarniaQueen and I feel when we write out those chapters.**

 **And that's the last of the Guest Reviews. Actually he is pretty much the only Guest Review. Just zero and Retro reviewed last chapter so thanks you guys! Now remember you guys, if you have any question, comments, or concerns, just leave them in a review and either NarniaQueen or I will get to them.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

* * *

It was now night time back at the base, and Hiccup and Ragnar were getting ready for some much needed rest. It had been days since they'd gotten a good night's sleep, and every bone in their tired bodies ached from the events of this last week.

Ragnar pulled the covers up over himself on his cot and yawned. "Ah, night Hiccup. Try and get some rest. The celebration feast is tomorrow." He sank down, shifting into a comfortable position.

Across from him, Hiccup remained sitting up in his bed, staring straight ahead at the wall. "Likewise," he mumbled quietly. He made no effort to make himself comfortable or lay down.

Ragnar furrowed his brow. He knew that something was still bothering his friend as it had been for several days now, but didn't press him. Hiccup would come around in due time. But still…Ragnar wished he could do something, anything, to help him.

The next day went by in a haze for Hiccup until the time of the evening gathering at the mess hall. When the boys arrived, they were greeted with compliments and pats on the shoulder. The voices of the various men carried across the room.

"Good work this week, boys. That was not an easy victory to come by."

"Nice dragons."

"Wish I could have been there."

Ragnar offered a grin. "Thank you," he said, taking a seat at the table. Hiccup did the same.

The colonel approached them and sat down across the table. "I must commend you two on your fine work. It was not easy, and I must admit, I had doubts about sending you there. But you both prevailed. And Hiccup," he paused, turning to face him. "Ragnar told me about what you did. That was very courageous of you."

Hiccup didn't respond, and Ragnar eventually interjected. "Thank you, Sir," he answered for him.

Another young man approached them, paying them compliments. But Hiccup heard none of it, as the noises in his head became louder and louder. His heart raced as he heard the noises once again.

Cries of pain.

The bullets hitting his target.

The thud of the man hitting the ground in a pool of his own blood…

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

 _Thump._

Hiccup's heart continued to race as the memories of battle flooded his mind. Darting his eyes around the room, his vision became blurry as he gasped for air, shallow of breath. He could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow as his pulse quickened. He could distantly hear Ragnar calling his name beside him, but it seemed miles away.

 _ **Thump.**_

 _ **Thump**_ **.**

Hiccup could hear nothing over the sound of his own heartbeat. Suddenly, involuntarily, he shot up out of his seat.

"QUIET!" he shouted, out of breath. In an instant, the large room went silent. All eyes were fixated on him. But before he could process what was going on, Hiccup felt himself turning towards the door and sprinting out into the rain.

Hiccup kept running into the pouring rain. He didn't know where he was going, and he didn't care. All he knew was that he needed to escape.

Turning a corner, Hiccup stopped in between two buildings, out of breath. His eyes swam as he tried to make sense of where he was, but couldn't. Gasping for air, he sank down against the wall, holding his head in his hands. He felt himself trembling as flashes of war played out in his mind. Time seemed to stand still.

"HICCUP!" A voice shouted, and the form of Ragnar rounded the corner, although Hiccup was hardly aware. "Hiccup! Are you ok?" he said, crouching down beside him.

Hiccup didn't move. He wanted to, but didn't feel like he could. It was as if every bone in his body was suddenly glued down, and he had no control over himself. Ragnar spoke again softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Hiccup, look at me."

Hiccup somehow managed to face his friend.

"Are you ok?" he repeated, searching his eyes intently.

Hiccup nodded, feeling himself snap back to the present. "I'm fine."

Ragnar held his gaze. "We _need_ to talk, Hiccup."

Hiccup studied Ragnar sardonically. "What about?"

"You. You're-"

"I said I was fine."

Ragnar gave a harsh, humorless laugh. "Any half-wit a mile off could see that you're not."

Hiccup moved away, distancing himself. "I told you I was ok. Now aren't you satisfied?"

"No. Hiccup," Ragnar came closer, not allowing Hiccup to leave. "Listen to me. You need to talk about what's going on inside you. I'm not going to sit back and watch another display like the one that just happened, and the one last night."

Hiccup shook his head in confusion. "W..what are you talking about?"

"You ran out of the mess hall. You didn't sleep last night. And I know it's all because of-"

Hiccup's eyes darted into him, his expression suddenly fierce. "Stop."

"It's because of what happened to you in-"

Hiccup shakily moved back. "Don't Ragnar."

"It's what happened to you in the battle. Please," he put his hand behind Hiccup's neck, turning him towards himself. "Tell me what happened."

"I can't…"

"Now."

"No."

"Hiccup, if you don't open up, this shit will kill you on the inside, do you understand?"

Hiccup suddenly shoved Ragnar off of him and stood to his feet. "SHUT UP! Just SHUT UP, do you hear? Why should I give a damn if it _does_ kill me? I killed that man in cold blood, so why should _I_ deserve to live instead?! Why do I fucking deserve anything? I'm a _murderer_!"

Ragnar rose and shouted back. "You didn't kill that man in cold blood, you killed him because he was coming after me! You saved me, Hiccup!"

"NO! It doesn't matter. None of this fucking matters! I can't _do_ this anymore!" Hiccup turned away, intending to flee, but Ragnar grabbed him from behind before he could move, pinning him to the wall with both arms.

"Now you listen to me! War is _war_ , Hiccup! People die! And it's fucking hell, but that's just what happens! Get it through your mind that you did nothing wrong! You did something right!"

Hiccup struggled to get free, but Ragnar held him there, continuing. "We go to war in order to save people Hiccup, and that's just what you did."

"You don't understand Ragnar. You can't!"

Ragnar paused for a moment, his eyes locking into Hiccup's. "Trust me, I understand better than anyone else."

Hiccup felt his body going limp, as a grief too deep for words washed over him. He crumpled against the wall, and Ragnar grasped him and held him against himself in a strong embrace before he could fall. Ragnar didn't let go as Hiccup sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

Ragnar tried his best to comfort him. "Shh, it's ok Hiccup. There's nothing to apologize for. War is hell, and I wish right now that I could tell you that you'll never feel like this again, but I know that that would only be a lie."

Hiccup continued to sob.

"Just stay strong my friend, and most importantly know that I'm always here for you. There's nothing that you could tell me that I haven't already been through myself."

~Line Break~

A few hours later, Colonel Underson sent word for Ragnar to join him when Hiccup was finally asleep. Opening the door, Ragnar approached the man.

"Is there something I can help you with, Sir?"

The colonel leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms loosely. "How's Hiccup?"

"In bed. He's…having a hard time adjusting."

"No different than you a few years ago."

"Yes, Sir."

The colonel sighed. "It will take time for him. Expect for what he went through tonight to happen again. Although you probably already know that."

"Yes, Sir."

"The reason I wanted to speak with you though is another matter that has to do with your next assignment," he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small file of paperwork. He removed one of the sheets from the folder and lay it on the desk.

"What is that?" Ragnar asked.

"The location of your next mission. Much contemplation has gone into this decision; due to recent technological advances, we have made we have found a way to bypass the storm barrier that divides our world with…others. Because of this, we feel that the best place of all the islands we have discovered to continue work on our project is going to be here," he pointed to the map and slid it towards Ragnar.

Ragnar briefly studied the sheet, and then felt himself going cold, for he knew exactly where the location was. And how much this mission might affect Hiccup, especially in his present state of mind.

Presenting a stoic version of himself, and being careful to mask any emotion, he nodded to the colonel in compliance. "Yes, Sir. What support will we have?"

"At this moment there are five F-16's and two C-130's that have been modified to make it through the barrier. They won't go with you but if you need support they are available to support and drop in Thunder Company. Now I suggest you go tell Hiccup and get ready to leave in the morning." Came the response.

"Yes Sir." Ragnar responded as he exited the office and walked outside back towards the dorms, he tried to think to himself how he would manage to go about sharing this information with Hiccup. It wouldn't be easy for him. In fact, he knew his friend would hate it. For the place that they were being sent to was none other than the place that Hiccup had spent the past several years running away from.

Berk.

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 **A/N: Hi guys! Narniaqueen1300 here :) I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, let us know what you think in the reviews :) I'm very sorry it took me so long for this update! As Thearizona has mentioned previously, we have both been very busy with college and everything. But fear not, for we still have many adventures planned for our two boys! Also, we added a new picture for the story, which is the logo that we came up with for the Night Fury Program. It was drawn by Narniaqueen using what we had written out in chapter 12. Hope you enjoy!**

 **We would also like to give a special thanks to BestFrEnemies, xSnowDustx, MileHighOps, , Karate Koala, Kgaiser, ivanganev1992 for the favorite/follow of the story or of me personally.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

zero fullbuster: it's ok and thank you. love it. I can't wait what happens next. great update as always. wow and yay for this story.

 **Thank you for the amazing review, as always. Hope you enjoyed what Narniaqueen wrote here and we are both happy that this story is doing well.**

 **Happy Halloween to whoever celebrates it out there!**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	16. Hiccups First Christmas

**Christmas special that may or may not have been hinted at on the Facebook page.**

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Hiccup and Ragnar had almost the whole base to themselves as most of the soldiers were granted leave to go home to their families. While Ragnar knew why as he had been on base for a few years, it was Hiccups first year for the Christmas holiday. It was Christmas Eve and the boys were up in the range and were practicing with their pistols with Hiccup using the standard issue M9 nine-millimeter pistol while Ragnar preferred the classic M1911 forty-five caliber pistol.

"Hey Ragnar, where is everybody?" Hiccup asked his counterpart during a lull in the shooting.

"Most have been given a week-long leave to go see their family for Christmas." Came the reply from Ragnar as they reloaded the magazines.

"What's Christmas?" Ragnar simply looked over at Hiccup in disbelief. "What?" Hiccup once again asked after looking over to see Ragnar's look.

"You really don't know what Christmas is? I thought you would have learned by now."

"No, what is it? Is it anything like Snoggletog?" Hiccup asked, turning to him once he had finished loading his magazines.

"Actually yes, you could say Christmas is like Snoggletog."

"Well what are the traditions? I don't want to miss..." Hiccup started, only to be interrupted by Ragnar.

"Don't worry about it, I got everything planed out and I prepared for this; now you better get back to practicing with your pistol. You need to get better in time for your first exam." Ragnar replied as he placed his firearm and extra magazines on the platform in the lane.

"All right, is that why you have been spending more time in classroom?" Hiccup asked as he did the same thing. Ragnar didn't respond as they both resumed practicing their shooting and stayed there for a few hours, switching from their pistols to the M16A2 and then Hiccup spent some time with his new rifle, Hefnd Nótt. Hiccups accuracy was improving the more he was shooting his weapons.

"I'd say it's time to hit the sack." Ragnar said around 2100 hours (9:00 PM). With the agreement of Hiccup, they packed away the weapons in the weapon lockers and Hiccup stored Hefnd Nótt in its case before taking the elevator back down to the 'ground' floor and their room.

"You didn't answer me earlier, is Christmas the reason you have been spending a lot of time up in the classroom?" Hiccup asked his friend as they prepared to go to sleep.

"Yes, and you will find out why tomorrow morning. Speaking of which, there is no wake-up time in the morning." Ragnar told him as they climbed into their beds.

"Ok, I guess I will see you in the morning then."

"Yes, you will." Ragnar replied to him as they went to sleep. Or at least Hiccup did, Ragnar waited for the young man to fall asleep before he got up and went up to the classroom where he put the finishing touches on a surprise for Hiccup before going back down to his bed and quickly fell asleep.

 **-Next Morning-**

With no need for an alarm, the pair slept in to 0900, a few hours past what would be considered the normal wake up time for them, 0600. Ragnar was the first one awake, followed soon after by Hiccup.

"Come on Hiccup, it's time to get up. I got a surprise waiting for you upstairs." Ragnar said as he sat up on his bed and looked over at Hiccups bed to see a head of auburn hair and green eyes poking out from under the covers and gave him an almost glare before falling back to hit the pillow and after a few seconds the sheets got flung back as Hiccup sat up in his bed with a grunt. By that time, Ragnar had gotten up and started to change into something a bit warmer. Once both had changed, Ragnar lead Hiccup out the door and into the elevator to take them up to the classroom.

"Now before the doors open I'm going to ask you to close your eyes." Ragnar told Hiccup as the elevator started coming to a stop.

"Okay." Hiccup replied as he shut his eyes just before the doors opened. Ragnar had a hand on each shoulder and was leading him into the room. The smell of a pine tree and fresh pie assaulted his senses as he was guided further into the room.

"Now on the count of three, I want you to open your eyes." Ragnar said as he stood Hiccup about center room and walked around to his front. "Three…two…one…Open 'em"

When Hiccup opened his eyes, he saw Ragnar, the Colonel, Wraith, and Toothless standing before a large pine tree that had lights and decorations strung all around it and topped with a star. Sitting beneath the Tree were large gift wrapped boxes that Hiccup guessed where gifts. There were cut outs of snowflakes hanging from the ceiling and a table of to the side with all sorts of food sitting on top, awaiting somebody to eat it.

"Merry Christmas!" Ragnar and Ben said to Hiccup once he opened his eyes while the dragons just let out a merry sounding growl. Hiccup didn't know what to do, he was stunned by the surprise. Even though he had been on base for little over seven months, the amount of support he received surprised him. Unknown to him, tears started to form in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ragnar asked as he walked closer to his friend. When Ragnar got close enough, Hiccup lunged and gave Ragnar the best bear hug he could, while stronger then when arrived was still not that strong.

"Nothing. It's amazing." Hiccup told him as he broke the hug. Never before had some thought of him like that, even during Snoggletog. Back on Berk he was expected to hold his own, which he couldn't, and was always put down. Even during Snoggletog his father only paid a bit more attention to him in the morning by waiting for him to awake before leaving to do his rounds of the village. The only person he missed was Gobber, who treated him like a son and would grant the boy access to everything in the forge and the supply room for the whole day.

That rest of the morning was spent with opening the gifts under the big tree and eating the food off the table. Most of the gifts were for Hiccup, though Ragnar and the Colonel both gave each other some. Some of the things Hiccup got were a bigger scope for his rifle, some time in the armory to customize it, and a some of a Aramid-Kevlar weave for Toothless's prosthetic tail. Once all the gifts had been unwrapped, Ragnar notice something off.

"What's wrong Hiccup?"

"Nothing is wrong. It's just you guys got me such wonderful gifts and I have nothing to give you guys in return." Hiccup said as he laid back against Toothless, who was laying behind his rider as Wraith was with his.

"You didn't need to get us anything, you being here was a good enough gift on itself." The Colonel told him as he stood up out of his chair. "Now if you liked excuse me, I have some things to do of my own."

"Bye Ben!" The boys yelled out to him as he left.

" **Want to go flying?** " Toothless asked once the Colonel was gone. This earned a chuckle from the other three in the room.

"Sure buddy, lets go flying." Hiccup said, cause the massive reptile to jump and and rush towards the freight elevator that was installed just for the dragons. The other followed while laughing at the Night Fury's antics. The four were soon in the air, enjoying just being with each other and the joy of flying on dragon back or with a rider on their back. They spent the short amount of daylight they had in the air before landing just after dark. However, instead of going to the base Christmas party for those who didn't leave, they stayed with their dragons in the "Jungle", eventually falling sleep there after a few hours of plying around with each other.

"Good night Hiccup, Merry Christmas." Ragnar said as they each got enclosed by their own dragons wings.

"Good night Ragnar, and thank you for being there for me. Merry Christmas." Hiccup responded, the joy of being best friends with each other being the last thing to cross their minds before sleep took them.

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 **Merry Christmas everybody! Or happy holidays if you don't celebrate Christmas. I felt I owed you guys something with the real chapter being put back further then normal. So here it is! Hope you like it. This takes place, like it says, little over seven months after Hiccup arrives in Alaska, or left Berk, how ever you count it. I'm going to leave this chapter in permanently, as compared to the April Fools chapter which I took down after a day.**

 **This is the part where I say thank you to everybody who is a new favorite/follow and answer guest reviews, but I'm going to save that for for the actual chapter later on. Instead I'm simply going to say thank you to everybody. So, Thank You. Thank You everybody who has made it this far with Narniaqueen and I. It's been a joy seeing the support and reading/replying to all of your wonderful reviews.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	17. Chapter 16

**Ok, Ch. 6 of "For The Deaf and The Telepath" is out, what I should work on next? Chapter 7 maybe. *walks past window* wait, what? *backs up to look out window to see a crowd of "Moving On" followers* Ahh, what are you guys doing here? How did you even find out where I live? *ducks under multiple thrown weapons* Ok, I get it! I will get back to working on this story.**

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When Ragnar returned to the room the two shared he found Hiccup gone from where he had left him. The young man was slightly surprised that his friend was no longer there, though he had a suspicion on where he might be. He walked out of the room and into the small observation area that overlooked the "Forest". It was rarely used and the door was kept locked with only the Colonel and the Boys having a key. Ragnar looked down into the Dragon's area and saw Wraith hanging by his tail from a tree while Toothless was laying by the elevator with his wings wrapped around his chest.

 _There he is_ Ragnar thought, knowing that the pair would sometimes sleep with Hiccup curled up underneath the wings and up against the Night Fury's chest. The young man let the pair sleep as he knew Toothless wouldn't let him wake Hiccup up when they slept like that and so he went back to his room to sleep and wait for morning to tell the boy.

 **-Next Morning-**

Ragnar woke up the next morning half expecting to see Hiccup in his bunk waiting for him to wake up so they could talk. Except he wasn't there. Well, Ragnar was only half expecting it. What he wasn't expecting though, was the manila folder sitting on his dresser. He went over to see what it was and noticed the words Top Secret stamped in red across the front of the folder. Not that it was an issue as the boys both had a high security clearance due to them being in a program that only a select few knew about.

Upon opening the folder, he was treated to several satellite photos of the Barbaric Archipelago. The date on the photos showed they were only about a week old. The main islands had been circled and names put next to them, and each main island had a blow-up photo of said island. There were also data sheets with and force estimate and some other statistics. He was really grateful for the time the men in Military Intelligence took when they spent days on end analyzing the satellite photos. He took extra time in looking at Berk, not only because that was where they were going but because that was where Hiccup had grown up so he wanted to get a feel for the village. After a few minutes of studying the photos and data sheets, Ragnar collected the papers and walked to the elevator to take him down to where Hiccup and Toothless were sleeping.

When he exited the elevator, Ragnar noticed that the boy and his Night Fury were still in the dragon hug from last night near the door to the elevator. Though by this time Wraith had come over and was laying down by the pair, waiting for them to wake up as Ragnar now was once he walked out of the elevator.

"Should we wake them Wraith?" Ragnar asked the dragon he was sitting next too.

" **I think we should. I mean it's been such a long time for them to sleep.** " Came the reply.

" **If you two talk any louder than there will be no need to wake us.** " They heard Toothless say as they looked over to see both dragon and boy looking at them.

"Are you feeling any better?" Ragnar asked Hiccup as he stood up to walk over to the young man who was just himself getting out from Toothless's wings.

Hiccup rose to his feet and brushed himself off. "Better? Uh…" Hiccup paused, trying to recall what Ragnar was talking about. He recalled vaguely that something distressing had happened last night, but his memory was quite foggy when he tried to remember the specific events. "I think so?"

Ragnar walked over and stood next to him, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He didn't say anything for a moment, and Hiccup spoke up.

"Well you seem uncharacteristically quiet, Ragnar. Is something wrong?"

Sighing Ragnar stepped forward. "I'm afraid so. You see Hiccup...we got our next assignment."

"Oh?" Hiccup replied, pulling an apple from his satchel and taking a bite. "Any what might that be?"

"I received a packet from the Colonel last night with the entire mission plans laid out in detail. Apparently, they are going to establish a new embassy somewhere... quite far from here, and they're sending us to make acquaintance with the people of that place."

Hiccup nodded for him to continue, chewing another bite. "Where?"

Ragnar sighed and cursed to himself in his head, knowing the reaction that would follow, before he muttered his next word, "Berk."

Hiccup coughed, dropping the fruit. "Wait...what?"

"They're sending us to Berk. That is where the new headquarters will be hopefully set up. If all goes according to the plan."

Hiccup slowly shook his head, a dazed look in his eyes. "No...you must be mistaken, you...they...they would never even let us into Berk. I know the people, they, they just…" Hiccup's lip trembled as he tried to grasp for the words that seemed to slip away on his tongue. Ragnar remained, standing, facing him, not knowing what to say. He questioned the mission himself. Of all the places, why _Berk?_ Why now? Just when Hiccup was suffering through the aftereffects of the battle. He sighed. It was going to be a long journey to the island where Hiccup came from, but Ragnar would have to remain strong, for both of them. Hanging his head, he sighed again. "I'm sorry Hiccup. I can't imagine you would ever have wanted to go back to that place. But," he leaned against the wall beside Hiccup, "Unfortunately a mission is a mission, and as you know we really have no place to question what is expected of us. As a matter of fact, it speaks volumes of your character that they trust us enough to be the ones to go and be the ambassadors on this mission at all." He said, trying to sound positive about the matter.

"Rag, it's just...I don't know if I can go back. I was sort of...disowned."

"I know, and I do have a plan for that that I'll tell you later. But for now, we need to be ready and prepared for the journey ahead. I've spoken to the Colonel and he is going to come and lay out the general details of the plan in a little while."

Hiccup shook his head and walked forward, staring away from Ragnar. "I'm sorry, between last night and now, I feel like I've just been no help at all to you, or really anyone here at the base. My attitude sucks, and my flashbacks have only gotten in the way of what needs to be done. I don't know if I'm cut out for this type of work, Ragnar."

Ragnar stepped forward. "That's a bunch of nonsense, Hiccup, of course you're 'cut out for it'. You're actually superb in this field. And you do realize that everything you're experiencing is completely and entirely normal. As shitty as it is, I'd honestly be concerned if you _didn't_ feel this way."

Hiccup sighed, and Toothless looked at him with pity. " **I'm sorry too, Hiccup. But we're all here for you. We're all going on this journey together. You don't think** _ **I**_ **want to go back to a place where they wanted to kill me, do you?** "

Wraith stepped forward. " **I remember when Ragnar experienced the same thing but we made it through together, as you will also.** "

It was then that the Colonel walked out of the elevator to see the four of them standing by the wall closest to the elevator.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything." He said, taking a step outside the elevator. Both Ragnar and Hiccup saluted him as he walked in.

"No sir, we were just finishing up." Ragnar replied back to their commanding officer.

"Good, now I do believe Ragnar and I have some news for you about your next mission Hiccup." Hiccup looked at the pair, who were now standing next to each other, with a small amount of dread in his look, fearing the news that he had already been giving but knew he would hear again.

"Your next mission will be to establish an embassy in the archipelago, more specifically on Berk." The Colonel said.

"But how will you staff and supply it and why now? We don't have anything but Toothless and Wraith that can get through the Barrier and I doubt they will be willing to do cargo runs." Hiccup asked, confused about the details.

"For the how, just before you returned we finished the modification of five F-16's and two C-130's so they could make it past the Barrier." Colonel Ben informed him. "As for the why, well we figured that it was the right time to do it now that we can actually fly things into the Archipelago."

"Ok, one more thing, why Berk? You know my history with Them." Hiccup said, pronouncing Them with disgust extremely evident in his voice.

"Yes I do, but the central location of Berk and the fact that you do have insider knowledge of the island outweighs the negative of the bad blood from three years ago." Ben once again informed the teen, though Hiccup didn't like to hear that as he knew it was true.

"It's been three years since you were last seen by them Hiccup, and you won't have to show yourself. I can do all the talking." Ragnar said, noticing how uncomfortable his pseudo brother was.

"Thanks Rag." Hiccup said as he started to sit back down against Toothless. "And thank you Colonel for the information."

"You're welcome, now you two are suppose to leave tomorrow. Ragnar has the rest of the briefing and intel for you Hiccup. As always I will see you off before you leave so see you tomorrow boys." The Colonel informed them before stepping back into the elevator and getting lifted up and away.

"Now come on Hiccup, we have a briefing and the some packing to do." Ragnar said once the elevator returned to their level. Hiccup begrudgingly agreed and all four of them went up to the briefing room, which like all the rooms in the building were built the knowledge that there would be dragons in the room at one point or another.

"Now I know you know the layout of the village so we can skip that." Ragnar said as he rolled out a large map of the island. "And because of that, where do you suggest we land and hide Toothless and Wraith?"

" **We could use The Cove.** " Toothless said.

"That could work, nobody should know about it and it's not like they ever go into the forest." Hiccup said, mumbling the last part.

"Cove, as in The Cove?" Ragnar asked, knowing how the two had bonded. Hiccup had leaned over the map and was looking for it.

"Yes, that Cove. It should be riiiiiight here." Came the response as Hiccup laid his finger on a spot on the map. "I also suggest we come in from the North-West so we don't get near the Village."

"Alright, now with that out of the way it's time to get down to business." Ragnar said as he wrote down the notes and circled the cove on the map. "Our mission is to establish peaceful relations with the nations of the Archipelago by starting in Berk due to its central location."

"How will I stay undiscovered though? Even though it's been three years, I don't think they have forgotten or forgiven me."

"Keeping that in mind, my role is to make contact and negotiate everything while you are to act as my guard. This will allow you to stay in your BDU's and in full kit while we are there."

"That's all good, but what about my face or even my name? Surely they would recognize both together, there aren't many Hiccups in the world." Hiccup said, prompting Ragnar to reach once again under the table for something. When he straightened back out again Hiccup saw he was holding a Ski Mask in his hands.

"You will be wearing this." Ragnar stated as he tossed Hiccup the Mask. On the front of the black mask was the white outline of a Night Fury Skull. Hiccup didn't know how to respond.

"Do you like it? I had it specially made just for you and the design is based on Toothless's skull." Ragnar said as Hiccup just stood there and admired the mask and the thought that went into it.

" **Good going Ragnar, you just broke Hiccup again.** " Toothless said as he whacked Hiccup atop the head with his tail fin to snap him back into the real world.

"Sorry, yes, thank you Ragnar. This is perfect." Hiccup rushed out his words as he put the mask down on the table.

"Good; now as I was saying, you will be in full combat gear and I will just have my M1911 on me. I will be bringing my gear as well but leaving it with Wraith. As for a name, I will leave it up to you and if you need to tell me you can just tell me in English so they can't tell you but your voice." Ragnar informed Hiccup as they finished up. "I almost forgot, the Colonel will be putting Thunder Company on standby to come assist us if we need it once we cross the Barrier. Now I suggest you go pack and get ready for tomorrow's flight."

"Come on Toothless, let's go get ready." Hiccup said as he turned to go do ask Ragnar asked, the mask in his hand.

" **Do you think he will be ok being back on Berk?** " Wraith asked once the pair had left the briefing room, leaving Ragnar and Wraith alone.

"I hope so. Though I'm hoping these past three years have changed him enough that it shouldn't affect him as much as he thinks it will, nor allow them to recognize him." Came the response.

" **Well then let's hope you are correct. If he goes into another flashback while there...** " Wraith started.

"If that happens then I will do my best to help him through it. We can't have him running back to Toothless and potentially dragging a few curious Vikings with him." Ragnar responded before sitting down at the table. Not a word was said between the two for a few minutes and Ragnar was deep in thought about the upcoming mission and all the problems that might come with it. All he could think of was Murphy's Law; If anything can go wrong, it will.

"Come on Wraith, we should probable get down and get ready as well."

" **Right behind you Rag.** " Was the response as the pair got on the elevator to ride down to the main floor where the rooms where.

 **-Next Morning-**

The boys had just finished putting everything they were bringing with them on their saddles when the Colonel and some other officers walked up to them.

" _Good luck boys_." He said as he shook their hands, leaving a small medallion in each. When they looked at them they saw they were Nordic good luck charms. " _Never hurts to have a little extra luck on our side_."

" _No Sir, never hurts."_ Ragnar responded as both of the boys, now men, climbed onto their dragons and took off, bound for Berk. They flew in silence for a few hours, leaving the Alaskan shores behind.

"I never thought I would be going back so soon." Hiccup said, breaking the silence. "I knew I would have to go back someday, but not this soon."

"Don't worry Hiccup, I will be by your side the whole time and Toothless will just be on the other side of the island. Plus you know how to take care of yourself this time around."

"That is true." Came the response from the former Berkian. The rest of the flight was filled with either more silence or small talk between all four of them. They flew on for a few more hours before the sky started to darken around them and before them they could see a massive wall of clouds, the Barrier.

"There it is, the Barrier." Hiccup said as they flew ever closer.

"Any ideas on how we are going to get through?" Ragnar asked Hiccup and Toothless as those two had been the ones to go through the Barrier most recently.

"We just went through, so I guess just try and stay as close as you two can." Hiccup replied as the four preceded to enter the Barrier and get tossed around like ragdolls as they flew through it. They continued to fly through the raging storm wall that surrounded the Archipelago, getting knocked about due to the wind, rain, and gusts that buffeted them as they flew through it.

"Hiccup! How close are we!?" Ragnar asked over the radio after almost fifteen minutes of flying through the storm.

"We should be almost out of it." Hiccup responded as the storm started to lessen up on them. It took them another five or so minutes before they broke through the other side of the Barrier and into the Archipelago.

"Should we find land or just keep flying to Berk?" Ragnar asked, not having the same type of knowledge of the area as Hiccup did.

"What do you think bud, think you can make it to Berk from here?"

" **Depends on if you want to arrive in the dark or not, but I say we keep going to Berk.** " Toothless responded to his rider.

" **I agree.** " Wraith spoke up, adding in his thoughts.

"Then it's settled, we push on to Berk." Ragnar said, and they flew on towards their destination.

"Hey Ragnar, I know what name I want to use while there." Hiccup said after a few minutes of more flying.

"Continue."

"Hunter." Hiccup simply stated.

"That's a nice name, fits you very well my friend." Ragnar responded. They continued to fly onwards towards Berk in mostly silence but doing the occasional trick to help pass the time and ease the tension.

" **There it is Hiccup.** " Toothless said. " **Berk.** "

"Ok Hiccup, lead us in." Ragnar told Hiccup once they got a bit closer to the island.

"Copy that." Hiccup replied to Ragnar before muttering a reassurance to himself. "You can do this Hiccup, it's just an island." They flew in low and from the other side of the island then the village. They flew right above the treetops before landing in the cove.

"Let's wait till tomorrow to visit the village, it's late and with what we have done I think it's best we wait." Ragnar said, to which the other three agreed and so they set up the small tent that the two would share while the dragons would sleep outside guarding it. Once they finished setting up the tent there was nothing to do for the remaining two hours of sunlight they had left. Toothless then suddenly started to attack Hiccup's face with his tongue, knowing that he wasn't comfortable with being back on Berk and trying to lighten the mood.

"Toothless, you know that doesn't wash out." Hiccup said as he flicked some of the slobber back onto Toothless, much to the annoyance of the dragon who tried to flick it back, causing Wraith and Ragnar to laugh at the scene. Hiccup and Toothless shared a knowing look before charging at the laughing pair. Hiccup taking Ragnar before starting to tickle him as Toothless started to roll around and wrestle with Wraith. Eventually the two different piles merged into one big mosh pit of human and dragon limbs.

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 **Oh gosh, I'm sorry guys. It's been so long since I last posted an update not counting the Christmas update. What, two months? Oh I am so sorry! Though we are back on Berk! What do you think about how I got them back there? We tried to make this longer than the average chapter but this was just a good stopping point for it.**

 **In other news, this story now has more than 10K views with 10,563 views! Oh, that makes me so happy. Never did I think one of my storys would break 10K views so this is a huge milestone for me. Holy cow, "For The Deaf and The Telepath" has almost 7K and "Brothers in Arms" only has about 4K, so over 10K views...does this mean I have made it? This story is also up to 49 favorites and 71 follows, so let's get onto that section.**

 **Thank you to LightiningFlameDragonSlayer, The yellow fox, mikawillems, ant-death, sigurdgh, mikawillems, ramsay, .921, spencerfrench22, Vrieling99 for the favorite/follow of this story or me personally. and a huge thank you to EVERYONE. All of you readers out there, if you favorite/follow or not keep making my day whenever I check the stats for this story.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

MMM: oh boy they are heading back to berk. what will berk say about the time line?

 **Yes they are. Well, what Berk doesn't know can't hurt them. Though they will find out eventually, let's let them get over how far the world has progressed before worrying about Hiccup, or is that what you were talking about the whole time?**

 **Zero Fullbuster, always a joy to see your reviews. Here is what you have been asking about, the boys finally get back to Berk, though they have yet to go into the village yet, that will be next chapter. Hopefully it wont take another two and a half months!**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	18. Chapter 17

**So uhm, ya. I have had this chapter sitting finished for a month now and I didn't realize I hadn't posted it yet. And I don't think I would have had I not looked back on this when writing Ch. 18 so here you guys go! Oh, and thanks to the reviewers who help me decide how to write the PoV's for this chapter, cause it jumps to somebody new but it starts out normal PoV. Enjoy!**

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"Come on Hiccup, or should I say Hunter, we should head out." Ragnar said as the two finished getting ready for the day. Ragnar was simply wearing his BDU's with his M1911 strapped into his tactical holster on his right thigh. Hiccup on the other hand, wore his BDU's with his body armor, helmet, and Night Fury skull mask along with his M9 in a tactical holster on his right thigh and Hefnd Nótt in his hands. Even though Hefnd Nótt was a sniper rifle, by using the lowest magnification Hiccup could use it at closer ranges equally as effective.

"Ya ok." Hiccup said, still worried about being recognized.

"Don't worry, if I didn't know it was you I wouldn't even recognize you." Ragnar reassured his pseudo-brother with a pat on the back as they started their walk towards Berk. They walked for a few minutes and got close to the edge of the forest when Hiccup grabbed Ragnar's shoulder to stop him.

"How are we going to explain how we got here?" Hiccup rushed out, worry evident that one little detail left unchecked would spell disaster for them.

"I will say that we brought a RHIB ashore from a larger ship that is now out of sight, or we dropped from a C-130. Don't worry about it Brother, I will deal with it, understood?" Ragnar replied, turning so he was staring right into Hiccup's eyes. After that they proceeded to finished the walk and exit the forest, walking fully into Berk. As they walked farther away from the forest the inhabitants started to take notice of them. They heard cries for the chief start to go up around the village as one of the Berkians came running up to them.

"Stop! Who are you and what brings you to Berk?" The man asked, hand on his axe which was resting on his hip.

"You can stay you hand off that axe, we mean no danger to you or to Berk." Ragnar said in a very calm and diplomatic tone. "We simply wish to form an alliance."

"My hand will stay where ever I want it to stay, so it stays on the axe." Came the response. "Now you two are going to stay here until the Chief arrives." The three of them stood there for a few moments as the large bear of a man who could only be Chief Stoick 'Oh hear his name and name and tremble' The Vast Haddock came walking over to them from the direction of the Great Hall. Trailing behind him was most of the village and all of the old gang, Snotlout, Astrid, Fishlegs, and the Twins.

"What's going on over here." Stoick said, his voice booming as it always did, while regarding them with a look that seemed to stare right through them. Hiccup had called it his 'Chiefing stare' back when he was younger but had never been on the other side of it.

"I caught these two sneaking into the village sir." The Viking that had 'caught' them told Stoick.

"Is that right young man? You two were sneaking into the village?" He asked them.

"Then they must be spies if they were sneaking, I bet they are Berzerkers. Why else would they be dressed so weird and not be carrying any real weapons?" Snotlout said, still as tactful as ever.

"Shut up Lout, and let the lad speak." Gobber said as he cuffed the teen behind the head as he walked up.

"No sir, we walked into town with every intent of finding you. We are here to establish peaceful diplomatic relations with Berk and the rest of the archipelago." Ragnar said to Stoick.

"Who are you and where might you two be from? I haven't heard of any new Villages being formed." Stoick responded, asking the question that everybody was wondering.

"My name is Ragnar and this is my bodyguard, Hunter. The answer to that next question is something I would rather disclose to you in private Chief." With that response, all heads turned towards Stoick to see what his response would be.

"And why is that Ragnar?"

"It is something that carries a great weight attached with it and before it is told to the whole village I would rather only let one know." Ragnar said, gesturing to the crowd that had followed Stoick and then gather around them as they were talking. In that crowd, nobody noticed Snotlout walk away from where the rest of his peers were. That was until a cry rang out from behind Ragnar, causing everybody to turn and look.

"Don't touch my gun!" Hunter shouted as he stood over Snotlout who was laying on the ground.

" _What happened Hunter?_ " Ragnar asked him, wanting to know what really happened before Snotlout twisted it.

" _Snotlout made a move to grab my pistol, so I punched in the face. Oh, it felt so good to finally be able to do that._ " Hunter responded to him, glee evident in his voice.

"What happened over here." Stoick boomed out over the crowd as everybody had started talking, effectively quieting them.

"He just punched me in the face for no reason!" Snotlout shouted as he got back up.

"See Stoick, I knew they were dangerous, just look what they did to my son for no reason!" Spitelout said as he got involved and pushed his way through the crowd to his son.

"Now wait a minute, that's not what happened at all." Ragnar said. "Snotlout there made a move for Hunter's weapon so he responded to get him away."

"What's the big deal? That thing is too small and misshapen to be a real weapon." Snotlout said, drawing his sword, and swing it around. "Now this is a real weapon."

"Snotlout, if you don't stop then you will have stable duty for a week. These two men are here peacefully to form an alliance, you will treat them with the respect of a visiting Chief." Stoick said, slightly scolding the young man. "Now that goes for the rest of you as well. Now go back to what you were doing, this is now a private matter." He shouted to the rest of the village, who begrudgedly went back to work. "Follow me, we can talk in my house where we can speak in private."

"Thank you Chief." Ragnar said as he and Hunter followed the massive form of Stoick to the man's house, leaving the few who had tried to follow and listen in outside as they shut the door.

 **-Stoick's PoV-**

The day was going well for Chief Stoick The Vast Haddock as there had not been a dragon raid the for two nights and the hunters and fishermen were able to bring in enough meat to completely fill the reserves that were kept in the Great Hall, safe from the dragons. Nobody had started a fight yet, which was unusual for the Vikings but Stoick wasn't going to look the gift yak in the mouth.

"CHIEF!" he heard somebody shout as they burst through the doors of the great hall, interrupting a meeting between Him, Gobber, and heads of the other major houses on Berk about what to do about a Heir to the Chieftainship.

"What is it Bjørn?" Stoick asked the slightly winded man once he got closer to the table.

"Two strangers just walked into town from the forest, Arne stopped them and is holding them near the edge of town." Bjørn said, causing a stir in the group.

"Thank you Bjørn, you can go back to them." Stoick said to the man, causing him to leave. "This meeting is over till they are dealt with." With that the group of six men got up out of their chairs and exited the Great Hall to go see what the strangers wanted. As they were walking over to where Arne had stopped the two strangers they noticed that most of the village was also walking towards the edge of the forest to see who these strangers were.

"What's going on over here." Stoick said, his voice booming as it did whenever he needed to end an argument.

"I caught these two sneaking into the village sir." Arne told Stoick.

"Is that right young man? You two were sneaking into the village?" He asked them, looking the pair up and down to try and make sense of them. Both were wearing a combination of dark browns, black and greens with an odd sheath on one of their legs, one on the right the other on his left. The man in the back had an odd skull mask and weird helmet on his head while there was a pack on his back and an oddly shaped pipe or something in his hands.

"Then they must be spies if they were sneaking, I bet they are Berzerkers. Why else would they be dressed so weird and not be carrying any real weapons?" Snotlout said, still having not learned how to be delicate in these situations.

"Shut up Lout, and let the lad speak." Gobber said as he cuffed the teen behind the head as he finally arrived, being slower with his fake leg.

"No sir, we walked into town with every intent of finding you. We are here to establish peaceful diplomatic relations with Berk and the rest of the archipelago." The leader of the two men said to Stoick.

"Who are you and where might you two be from? I haven't heard of any new Villages being formed." Stoick responded, asking the question that he knew the rest of his village was wondering.

"My name is Ragnar and this is my bodyguard, Hunter. The answer to that next question is something I would rather disclose to you in private Chief." Stoick was surprised by the audacity that the young man had with him by saying such a thing.

"And why is that Ragnar?" Stoick asked, slightly infuriated by the man's stubbornness.

"It is something that carries a great weight attached with it and before it is told to the whole village I would rather only let one know." The now named Ragnar said, gesturing to the crowd that had followed Stoick and had then gather around them as they were talking. It was then that the man behind Ragnar, Hunter, let out a shout. Hunter shouted something in a foreign language as he stood over Snotlout who was laying on the ground.

Ragnar asked him a question in that same language, presumably asking his guard what had happened. Hunter responded to him and Stoick swore he could hear glee evident in his voice.

"What happened over here." Stoick said, shouting out over the crowd that had started to gossip about what just happened, quieting them.

"He just punched me in the face for no reason!" Snotlout shouted as he got back up.

"See Stoick, I knew they were dangerous, just look what they did to my son for no reason!" Spitelout said as he got involved and pushed his way from behind Stoick to his son.

"Now wait a minute, that's not what happened at all." Ragnar said, turning around to face Stoick. "Snotlout there made a move for Hunter's weapon so he responded to get him away."

"What's the big deal? That thing is too small and misshapen to be a real weapon." Snotlout said, drawing his sword, and swing it around. "Now this is a real weapon."

"Snotlout, if you don't stop then you will have stable duty for a week. These two men are here peacefully to form an alliance, you will treat them with the respect of a visiting Chief." Stoick said, now angry at the young man who would potentially be the next chief. "Now that goes for the rest of you as well. Now go back to what you were doing, this is now a private matter." Stoick shouted to the rest of the village, wanting them gone as due to what they now had to talk about. The village begrudgedly went back to work and Stoick knew there would be a few that would try to listen in. "Follow me, we can talk in my house where we can speak in private."

"Thank you Chief." Ragnar said as he and Hunter followed the massive form of Stoick back to his house. Once they were in his house, Stoick looked back out the doorway and saw the few who he knew would try to listen in hanging around the outside of his house, so he shut and locked the door to his house.

 **-Omniscient Third Person-**

"Let's get down to business, where are you two from?" Stoic asked once they all took a seat around the table, leaving no room for Ragnar to dodge the question. Ragnar glanced at Hiccup before answering.

"We are from outside of the archipelago, quite some distance to the south." Ragnar said. Stoick didn't respond but gave them a look of slight disbelief.

"Where from? Last I heard there was nothing outside the Storm Wall and no ship could pass through."

"That was the case, but that's not the part I didn't want nobody else to hear. The world that we are from has moved past you in every way." Ragnar said. Stoick just sat there and looked at them in even more disbelief.

"Ok, would you care to explain that please? Though first, how did you get here?" Stoick asked, trying to wrap his head around the fact that apparently, they had been left in the past by the rest of the world.

"We flew here." Ragnar stated. "The technology has advanced far enough that we have bigger boats made from metal and flying machines." Stoick leaned back in his chair, shock clearly written across his face.

" _I think you broke him there Ragnar."_ Hunter said as he took in the sight of his dad surprised to the point of shock.

* * *

 **And I leave it there. This was dragging on and what comes next I honestly expect y'all to know what happens, Ragnar explains the basic facts about that Berk and the Archipelago are just a small part of the world, and ya know, wait for Stoick to recover from his shock of finding out. I'm sorry if you wanted to see it but I saw no reason to write it and I feel if I did it wouldn't be very good.**

 **Thank you to gwencarson126, MCPO Mark-061, bl2008, joe lama 102, killjoytommy, ian25rebel, Little Lady Otaku, deolosantos, , and Nightspyder for the favorite/follow of this story or me, it means a lot.**

 **Guest Reviews:**

 **zero fullbuster: dude, just thanks. You are always there with a review and I just want to say thank you. I can always count on you to leave a review.**

 **jarhead 5: Hey there! Oh there will be romance, later. There are somethings that need to happen first. Such as we need to finish the plot of the first film before anything like that can happen. But trust me, this is a Hiccstrid story.**

 **Well, that's it. Now I need to work on "For The Deaf and The Telepath". I am actually thinking of a new schedule to write so let's see how it works out.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	19. Chapter 18

It was midnight and Hiccup, exhausted from the day's events, slept soundly in his sleeping bag in the tent that he and Ragnar had made for themselves. Meanwhile, Ragnar paced, still wide awake. Much was on his mind as the council meeting was slated for tomorrow morning in which the young men would have to explain their proposal to the leaders of Berk. Removing his helmet, Ragnar sat down on a bench, slumped forward. He rubbed his aching temples. What would be the best way to address these outlandish group of Vikings? Having come from a people much like the ones of Berk, Ragnar knew a thing or two about how they might respond. It would not be a pretty picture if they reacted badly to this new information. As a matter of fact, Ragnar was quite certain that a small war could break out if they couldn't get on the same page about the matter somehow.

It didn't matter so much to him as he was concerned about Hiccup. Since arriving, in the brief time that they'd been here, he had watched his friend become tense, and sometimes quite restless; two characteristics that were previously common for the lad, but Ragnar had watched him grow out of after his first year with the program. He feared that Hiccup would revert to his old ways and unintentionally cause a scene which would in essence destroy the entire plan. If that happened, the two would have to return back to the base, a disappointment to everyone.

Ragnar shook his head; he wouldn't let that happen. He had worked too hard for the position that both of them were in now. Being here in Berk would be the true test for both of them. The reality of how strong they really were. For Ragnar also had his own demons of the past to battle here…

Hiccup stirred, shifting the blanket that covered him. Having bunked with the boy for several years now, Ragnar had become adept to telling when Hiccup was just waking up, or asleep and having a nightmare. In this case it was the latter.

"Psst Hiccup, wake up," he shook his shoulder lightly.

Hiccup grunted, shifting to the side, lining his eyes groggily. "Huh?"

"You were having a nightmare again."

"Oh," was the only reply. Hiccup sat up, stretched, yawned, and then nestled back into sleeping bag. He was asleep again in a few minutes.

Ragnar shook his head and sighed, for the scene that had taken place had become all too common for them.

Sunbeams shone through the tent, alerting the boys that it was now morning.

"Rise and shine, my friend," Ragnar proclaimed with much more joy and energy than he felt. He hadn't ended up getting much sleep that night, but it was time they got on the move. Shifting the tent flap back, he walked out to make a small fire to cook their breakfast on. The dragons, who had slept curled up around the tent, rose as well.

"Sleep well, boys?" Ragnar asked, gathering wood.

Toothless yawned, but it came out as more of a growl. " **As well as can be expected in a land where everyone wants to kill you,** " he replied, with a small snort.

At that moment, Hiccup exited the tent. "Oh, stop griping Toothless. If anyone has a right to complain, it's me. I was disowned."

" **Well Wraith here hit me in the back with his tail all night. How can anyone sleep if they're getting hit with a tail all night?** " Toothless leaned down to Hiccup's ear. " **He sleep walks sometimes too.** "

Wraith sat up straighter, offended.

"Ok you two, why don't you stop arguing about who has a right to complain and come and help me with breakfast? As for you dragons, there's a nice creek nearby that from what Hiccup tells me, is stocked with plenty of fish for you."

Almost before the words were out of his mouth, the two dragons had flown off in the direction of the creek with Toothless leading the way.

Hiccup tossed a pile of sticks down beside the fire Ragnar was building. "So, I guess today's the day, huh?"

"Yep, today's the day."

"I had a nightmare last night that it all went wrong…that they discovered who I was and everything."

Ragnar paused his wood stacking and looked up at Hiccup. "And that's all it was Hiccup; a nightmare. We have a plan, we know what to say, heck, you even have that face mask that I had made for you. They're not going to find out anything."

Hiccup shook his head and kneed down as well. "I guess not." He handed Ragnar some wood. "You're not going to like them, you know."

"Like who?"

"Oh, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, the whole gang. They're a pretty crazy bunch, all of them."

Ragnar cocked his eyebrow. 'I've seen crazier."

"I mean, you might like Astrid…but that's about it. She was the only one that was ever even remotely nice to me." He paused. "But don't get any ideas, ok?"

Ragnar smirked. "What ideas?"

Eyes bulging, Hiccup threw down some wood. "You know what 'ideas'".

Laughing, Ragnar struck a match. "You're red as a beet, Hiccup. You should see your face."

"I am not!"

"Yeah, you are," he chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't try and steal your girl while we're here," he winked. "Although…"

Hiccup fumed. "You better not."

"I won't," he clapped Hiccup on the back and stood. He reached in the tent and grabbed the mask. "Here, take this." he tossed it to him. "You'll need it to cover up that face of yours, Hunter."

"Why so soon? We haven't even eaten breakfast yet."

"Because your face is redder than a Monstrous Nightmare's." Ragnar replied causing Hiccups face to turn an even darker shade of red.

"Oh shut up!" Hiccup stood as Ragnar laughed even harder.

 **-Council Scene-**

The boys stood on the ground of the great hall, below the table that the Council of Berk was seated at. On the council was Stoick, Gobber, Gothi and the heads of the major houses of Berk: Hofferson, Ingerman, Jorgenson, and Thorston.

"Now, explain what you said to me yesterday to the rest of the Council." Stoick told Ragnar who was about to start when he was interrupted.

"Yes boy, tell us what is so important." Spitelout Jorgenson said in a demeaning tone.

"Oh shut up Jorgenson and let the boy talk." Gudmund Hofferson replied before anybody else could. Before Spitelout could come up with a response of his own he was silenced by a glare from Stoick.

"Please continue Ragnar." Stoick as he sent another glare towards Spitelout.

"Thank you Sir. Now as you are all aware from what i said yesterday in public, Hunter and I are here to establish peaceful relations with the Village of Berk." Ragnar started. "What we didn't say in public is where we are from. Hunter and I are from outside the Storm Barrier that rings the Archipelago, from the United States of America."

"These United States of America, what do they want here and what's with the uniforms?" Spitelout asked, disbelief and distrust evident in his voice.

"And how did you break through the Storm Barrier, even our toughest ships get smashed apart inside that thing." Bearlegs Ingerman also asked, but with disbelief and wonder in his voice.

"We were sent here to establish what we call an embassy, which is a residency mission where an ambassador and support staff stay in a nation to maintain peaceful diplomatic relations and forge treaties. To answer your second question, Hunter and I are a part of the United States Air Force which is a branch of their military." Ragnar said to Spitelout before turning to Bearlegs. "And we did not boat through the barrier, we flew through." With that statement, it sent the council into a buzz, never before had somebody thought of flying, for that was what the dragons did.

"Yak shit, the only things that fly are birds and those scaled devils. So, you either are lying or you rode those beasts making you traitors against your own race." Spitelout shouted out, garnering a very vocal support from the rest of the council who started to shout at the boys.

"Quiet! All of you and let the boy explain." Stoick yelled above the clamor.

"But Stoick..." Spitelout started.

"I said quiet! I know what he is about to tell you and it's not dragons." Stoick interrupted him before gesturing to Ragnar for him to continue. The boys shared a knowing look before Ragnar started talking.

"Thank you sir, how we got here is by using what we call an airplane. How it works is engines mounted on the wings propel it fast enough that the wings generate lift and lift the plane into the air. We actually arrived during the raid last night which is why you didn't see us." Ragnar explained. The council sat back in their chairs, taking in the information that skies no longer belonged to the birds and dragons. "The rest of the world is hundreds of years more advanced then you are, so much has changed."

"What was it you wanted young man?" Gudmund asked once they all got over the shock of what they had just heard.

"Simply permission for our government to set up an embassy. All we need is some land to build the building in which it will be housed and some help building it." Ragnar told them.

"In exchange for what?" Spitelout blurted out, earning another glare from Stoick and Gobber.

"In exchange, we will provide general help and services, eventually we will start giving you more advanced technology." Ragnar said, but Spitelout still wasn't happy.

"Give us a moment to discuss this." Stoick said as the council members turned around and started to discuss the request. After a few minutes of heated debate, they turned back around and Stoick stayed standing.

"Your request has been discussed by the council and we have chosen to accept you offer. Now when can we expect this ambassador of yours?" Stoick said to them, receiving a short and silent celebration from the boys.

"We will return back home to inform them and will return here with the ambassador, his staff, and the materials needed to build the embassy in about a week." Ragnar informed them.

"We will expect you back in a week and will have a location selected by then for you." Stoick said before the boys left the great hall to return to their camp and radio back to base to send everything. They themselves would not be returning back to base but would leave Berk proper but stay around to observe how Berk would react to the news and perhaps discover the reason for the raids.

"I don't trust them." Spitelout said once the boys had left the Great Hall and the doors had shut.

"Well I think you made that abundantly clear while they were still here." Gobber fired back.

"Well unlike you I have some reservations about them."

"Why you..." Gobber started before being interrupted.

"Both of you stop it!" Stoick said, interrupting them. "I'm sure both of you have your own reasons for trusting or not trusting them but the fact is they are going to be here whether you like it or not."

"Yes Chief." Both of the men said dejectedly.

"Now it was the decision of this council and my own that they be allowed to build their embassy and some Berkians might not trust them or agree with that decision. Now what we can't afford is to appear fragmented before the tribe and these outsiders. I don't care if you do or don't agree with me but keep those decisions to yourself while in public." Stoick berated them before exiting.

"Yes Chief." They once again said dejectedly before following him and the rest of the council out of the Great Hall and into the village. Once they exited the Great Hall the Berkians swarmed the steps, wanting to know what going on and who exactly those two men were.

"Quiet!" Stoick bellowed out over the incoherent noise of over a hundred people asking questions. They all instantly became silent and waited for their chief to explain it all.

"Those two men are from outside the storm barrier that keeps us in the archipelago. They arrived on something called an Airplane during the raid and came to establish a treaty between Berk and their nation of the United States of America. According to him the world is not plagued by the Dragon Scourge that we all face and so they have advanced way beyond us in every aspect." Stoick stated. The group didn't say a thing as they simply went about trying to understand what they had been told.

"They will be back in one week with materials to build an embassy which an ambassador lives in. As they explained it he is a representative of their nation when here." Stoick continued. "And when that happens we will be helping them build their structure. Now until then those two have left the island and until then return everything will continue as normal."

Stoick finished up his speech and explanation, grateful that nobody interrupted him. Mildew was not in the village today which was very helpful as he would always be against anything the council decided that went against what he thought it should be.

"Will they help us during the raids?" Somebody called out, asking a question that was on most people's minds.

"At this point we don't know. The treaty details will be discussed more when the representative arrives in one week's time. Now until then go about you jobs." Stoick responded, dispersing them to go back and perform their duties around the village.

* * *

 **Oh dear lord, it's been what, four months since I last updated this? I am so sorry. Life hit both me and NarniaQueen like a truckload of bricks. But that truck has gone...I hope.**

 _ **Hey guys it's NarniaQueen here. Super sorry it's taken SO LONG to update! But we do have many exciting adventures planned yet for our four favorite heroes :) Thank you once again for sticking with us through all the business of this year!**_

 **Ya, pretty much what she said. Now I think we have some guest reviews to answer and new followers and favorites to thank!**

 **Thank you to Nonchalantly44, HarleenPotter, The Awesome One 69, Rat1997rat, warzone109, Kirito10, Keyboardklutz, Lord Tachanka, Ranger39, gps239, toshiro and sakura 4 ever, Cut-through, FlameShadowGaming, and Bangaming7 for the**

 **follow/favorite of the story of me personally.**

 **Guest: What is wrong with the Astrid that Dreamworks created? Cause we didn't change anything with her character...yet. And if we do just remember that this is a fanfiction story and we can make whatever changes we want. Like changing your 10 foot pole out for 13 and 1/2 foot pole...hehe.**

 **Zero Fullbuster: Dude, i think you should change your name to old faithful cause you are always there with an awesome review.** _ **ya, you are legit man!**_ **And don't worry, Toothless and Wraith will appear on Berk, we have it planned out but it won't happened for some time, maybe a few chapters.**

 **Jarhead5: Is this soon enough? Hehe, the Green Weenie made it's presence known.**

 _ **As always if you guys have any questions or just want to chat feel free to shoot us a message in the box below!**_ **And we will endeavor to respond as soon as we can.**

 **Oh, it's been a while since we last updated this but i now have a discord channel if any of yall want to jump in and talk with me. I'm on pretty much 24/7 unless I'm sleeping. And if you feel up to it there is another server that's full of crazy fun i can link you to if you ask.**

 **Well until next time this is Thearizona signing off and wishing you a drunk St. Patrick's Day!** _ **Oh my...think of the children...**_ **I am, we give them fake beer** _ **wooooooow...**_ **Fine...we don't give them the fake beer. Can we** _ **NO!**_ **Fine...**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	20. Chapter 19

**Uhm ya, School started back up and all the craziness happened. But by now Y'all should know I don't hold myself to update times...maybe I should be better for y'all cause ya get better updates...but uhm ya, blame my love for video games and the crazy business that is life for how long these take to get out. Anyways, on to Chapter 19! Thought I should point it out but the date is late August 1990. Also, thank Narniaqueen for convincing me to post this now rather than later.**

* * *

"So how do you think that went?" Ragnar asked Hiccup as they walked through the village, away from the Great Hall and towards the forest from which they came.

"Well, we got them to accept it so that's a good sign," Hiccup responded, not paying much attention to Ragnar but to the surroundings as something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.

"Hiccup?" Ragnar asked, noticing that he was looking off to the side.

"The gang is following us. To our 7 o'clock trying to hide behind the buildings."

"I see them. Are we going to disappear on them?" Ragnar smugly asked Hiccup as they kept walking.

"Of course we are." The two continued to walk towards the forest, waiting for their moment to disappear. They soon had it as the gang walked behind a building just as they passed behind a group of villagers. Hiccup and Ragnar both stopped and took off running to the right, quickly getting behind a nearby cluster of buildings and then into the forest from there.

It was then that the gang peeked out from around the building that they went behind.

" _Where did they go?"_ Snotlout asked as they all looked for the pair.

" _We lost them, think they saw us?"_ Fishlegs asked.

" _They must have, but how did they notice us?"_ Ruff started.

" _We are like the masters of stealth!"_ Tuff ended, causing Fishlegs to facepalm. It was then that they noticed Astrid wasn't with them but had gone off on her own. She indeed had left the group, who had been quite loud for trying to quietly follow somebody. She noticed the two strangers duck behind a building to avoid the gang before running into the forest.

They kept running through the forest, snickering among themselves after seeing the surprised looks on the gang's faces.

"Oh man, that was good." Hiccup said as they slowed to a walk after running for about a minute into the forest.

"That it was," Ragnar responded to him as he patted him on the back. "Back to Wraith and Toothless?"

"Race you there!" Hiccup said as he took off in a sprint towards the cove.

"You wish you could beat me!" Ragnar yelled at him before also taking off in a sprint to catch up. Astrid however, not expecting them to take off was left in the dust accidentally by the pair as they raced away. She tried to follow the pair, but as they got farther into the forest the pair got further away until she eventually lost sight of them. She then climbed up on a nearby boulder to try and find them but couldn't.

" _Son of a Half-Troll."_ She shouted as she slammed her hand against the rock in frustration before turning around and heading back towards the village.

Both dragons perked up as they heard their riders come sprinting into the cove practically neck and neck.

"I so beat you, Ragnar!" Hiccup exclaimed as they came to a stop just inside the entrance to the cove.

"In your dreams Haddock, I clearly won that race buy a good foot!" came the response.

" **It was a tie.** _"_ they both heard from one of the dragons.

"Oh come on, there is no way we tied," Ragnar said as they caught their breath.

" **Well, you better believe it cause it's true,** " Toothless said as the two Night Fury's stayed parked where they were.

"Really?" Hiccup asked.

" **YES!** " Both Toothless and Wraith said at the same time as the boys reached them and flopped down onto the ground, leaning up against their own dragon.

" **So how did it go?** " Wraith asked the pair.

"It went well, all things considered. They accepted the embassy but I'm not sure everybody was excited about it." Ragnar responded to him.

" **Nobody recognized you then?** " Toothless said to Hiccup as the boy started to rub the Fury's head.

"No, honestly I thought Snotlout would when he tried to take my sidearm," He responded. In a flash, Toothless was up and sniffing up and down the boy as if trying to find something on him.

"Toothless!" Hiccup protested as said dragon started to lick the boy from his waist to his head. "Ugh, Toothless!" It was then that Toothless stopped and looked down at his rider, now covered in in Night Fury saliva, before nodding and laying his head on Hiccups chest.

"Oh, come on Toothless! You know that doesn't wash out."

" **That's the point!** " Toothless responded to the human that was trapped beneath his head. It was then that the two heard some snickering from where Ragnar and Wraith were standing.

"We should get moving, we don't know if anybody is out looking for us or not," Ragnar said as they finished playing around and letting off some of the steam that had built up from being in the village.

"Okay," Hiccup said, following Ragnar to the other side of the Cove to help pack up his gear.

" **So where are we going to go?** " Toothless asked as the two teens started to strap their gear onto the saddles.

"We could camp out on one of the sea stacks, nobody ever goes out there due to the rocks and since they can't fly they can't get to the top like we can," Hiccup suggested, "It will also allow us to stay close to observe how Berk reacts."

"Good idea Hiccup, you two lead the way," Ragnar motioned as they got onto their saddles and were soon in the air, heading towards the sea stacks where Hiccup and Toothless had almost crashed after while learning to fly almost three and a half years ago.

"Why don't you go set up camp while I radio command and let them know everything is a go," Ragnar said while getting the long range DSCS radio turned on which would allow him to radio back to Anders AFB.

" _Base, Fury One how copy over?"_

" _Fury One, Base. We read you five by five."_

" _Copy that. The Berkians have agreed to host an embassy and are expecting the airdrop in one week, repeat, one week from this date."_

" _Base copy's all Fury One. You are clear to stay in the area until the embassy is built and the ambassador is moved in. After that has happened you are to return to Base."_

" _Understood, Fury One out."_ Ragnar finished with the radio and turning it back off.

Hiccup took a seat as Ragnar set the radio down. Sighing, he removed his mask and held it in his hands, staring down at it, lost in thought. Ragnar crossed his arms and leaned against a tree.

"Hey, what's up Hiccup?"

"Nothing."

"Oh come on. Your mind's a million miles away. What's going on?"

Hiccup shifted, sighing again wearily. "It's just...well I guess seeing everyone again just brings back old memories. And my father…."

"You haven't seen them in years."

"That doesn't mean that the memories have gone away," Hiccup snapped back at Ragnar.

"You're right; I guess I just don't know what to do or say. I never thought it would be so...strange coming back here." He paused and forced a laugh. "Actually I never thought I'd be back here ever again."

"Well we are back here, I know it's not the best situation but it's the one we have been given."

" **Oh lighten up, hiccup it's not that bad,** " Toothless said a fish in his mouth. " **I think it's pretty great here, I mean all the fresh Icelandic Cod a dragon could want. Plus the three of us are here with you, so does it matter where we are as long as we are together?** "

Hiccup turned to face him. "Ya well, I don't really eat Cod."

Toothless, Wraith and Ragnar all looked at him. "Yes, you do!"

"Oh."

"Ok Hiccup, come on. I know you're feeling down but Toothless does make a point. We're here so we might as well enjoy it. We won't be here forever."

"Yes, we will," hiccup answered glumly. "Don't you see? This place is like a whirlpool of death and destruction that nobody can escape from. I tried to get away but I'm back here again."

Toothless threw a fish at him that knocked the boy off his rock.

"Hiccup, you do realize we can fly out of here whenever we want, right?"

Hiccup groaned as the fish landed on his face while he was on his back. "Whatever you say. If that's the case then why don't we just leave now?"

"You know why, we are under orders to observe Berk for one week until the ambassador arrives."

"Oh, I've spent my whole life observing berk. Trust me, there's nothing much to see. You've seen one dragon killing culture, you've seen them all."

"Ok mister cultural observer, how will Berk react to the news that they are centuries behind technologically and are only a small part of a large world?"

"They won't; knowing my dad he won't tell anybody about that just that there is a new tribe that they are allying with."

" **Alright alright will ya keep it down over there? Some of us have the good sense to try and get some sleep.** " Wraith shouted from the corner.

"Oh hush you, it's not even that late and aren't you supposed to be a nocturnal dragon anyways?" Ragnar teased the dragon before heading over to his tent.

Hiccup remained where he was for a little while longer. In a few moments, he could hear the sound of Ragnar snoring. He stood and walked to the edge of the cliff, looking out towards berk. All the stars seemed to point in that direction. As he gazed out into the dark sky, his mind seemed to be flooded with memories from the past. He remembered his times with his friends, with Astrid, with his father...even if he were to take off his disguise, would his village still treat him the same way that they had? Would they even recognize him? He had changed so much over the past couple years and it seemed that berk had hardly changed at all.

No matter what happened, at least he had his three best friends with him now. Hiccup fell asleep by the edge of the cliff and dreamed about the old times.

* * *

 ***pokes head out from bunker and waves a white flag* we give up, you can have this chapter.** _ **please don't kill us!**_ **Well if they kill us then no more chapters, TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT! *gets hit with a rubber bullet and goes down like a sack of potatoes*** _ **wellll that's that then. Hopefully, he comes around so we can write chapter 20**_ **.** _ **But seriously thank you for all the support guys! We're having a great time writing this story and we're super glad you're enjoying it.**_ **Ok, that hurt. Uhm, I think there is some reviews to answer and people to thank.**

 **Jarhead 5: He actually is not either of those. He is a Dragon Rider in the super ultra top secret Night Fury Program. Something I completely made up.**

 **Guest (i'm going to assume 5 of them are from the same person):**

 **Well, that scenario has been kinda done to death and was not what I wanted to do with this story.**

 **Why Kevlar? Kevlar because it is the best material available in the late 1980's for a tail fin that needs to do all the things we need it to do. Also, this is not a shelf good sir or madam, this is a dragons tail fin. But I think wear and tear would get to it before it could naturally deteriorate but what are backups for right?**

 **I know, an awesome war cry. And it was in Norse.**

 ***holds up cookie jar* Here is a cookie to all the newcomers who followed/faved the story: evlR, GabrielBR12, Hakke-Tatsumaki7657, SeriouslyCrazy83, MaryWayland, FrostSpecter, Kawaii shiba inu, , SuzanneK1992, FirstBookworm, radioaktive9999, Norse Kode, Artul, PCPMione, Demon125, Staples McGee Earl of Sussex, jiji-kitten, M-Preg Angel, LizzytheAngel, Ultrahero74, and SpikedTankedmaster300.**

 **And now to start chapter 20. Jethro, more coal for the furnace!**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


	21. Chapter 20

**This pretty much picks off where the last chapter ended and actual was suppose to be apart of the last chapter but we decided to cut it and start a new one. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **WARNING: some intense visual and some harsh language in one section, it will be marked off if you wish to skip it.**

* * *

Hiccup woke up with a shout. Beads of sweat poured down his face and he looked around, disoriented, trying to figure out where he was. He became aware of large, scaly wings wrapped around him. Panting, he laid his head back down. The sky was still dark.

" **Hiccup?** " Toothless' voice spoke in the stillness of the night.

Hiccup didn't move or speak. Ragnar approached the pair. "Hiccup, are you ok?" He asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" Hiccup said.

"Don't worry about it," he sat cross-legged on the ground beside hiccup. "You were having another nightmare, weren't you?"

Hiccup turned away. "No...well I mean yeah, I guess so. It's not really a big deal. It was nothing."

Ragnar frowned. "It's not nothing, hiccup. And it's important that you're honest with me, and more importantly yourself. I know you've been having a rough time ever since we came back. We all won't do well with the mission unless we can work through this. Together."

Hiccup stood and opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again.

"What was your nightmare about?" Ragnar asked, standing up.

"I just..." Hiccup started to cry as he laid back down against Toothless's chest and Toothless ruffled his hair with his snout. "Ragnar, I should have never come back. Look at me, I'm just a big baby. By Thor, I'm so weak. I thought I'd grown up over the past couple years, but apparently, I haven't. I'm just the same wimpy kid I always was."

Ragnar came to him. "Look here Hiccup, first of all, crying does not mean you're weak. It takes a strong man to express his feelings. Having a nightmare doesn't mean you're weak either, everybody has them. And as far as having you here on the mission, I could never have asked for a better companion," he paused "or friend. Do you want to talk about what you saw?"

Hiccup didn't speak for a long time, "I...I'm not sure if I want to remember what happened."

Ragnar sighed. "Well, when your ready to talk, just know that I'm here for you." He then turned around to go back over to where they had made their camp when he heard Hiccup cry out from behind him.

"NO! Please don't leave me Ragnar! I'll tell you everything, just please don't leave," Hiccup shouted as he jumped up and went to follow the man. Turning around, Ragnar caught Hiccup in a hug that nearly sent him to the group. Hiccup had his head buried in his brother's shoulder, letting loose with all the tears he had.

"Don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere," Ragnar said as he started rubbing his distraught brothers back. "Why don't we go sit down by the fire and you tell me about that nightmare."

Hiccup feebly nodded his head as he let Ragnar direct him over to where the dying fire was. Sitting Hiccup down and then tossing a few new logs onto the flames to keep it burning, Ragnar turned back his Brother and let Hiccup tell him of what happened in his nightmare.

*^*^*^ _Start of Nightmare_ ^*^*^*

Hiccup looked around, he didn't understand what was happening. Somehow he was riding atop Toothless and flying next to Ragnar and Wraith. Looking down he saw it was a desert and they were following a road.

"Hey Hiccup, you good over there bro?" Ragnar said to him.

"Uhm yeah, I'm good here why?" Hiccup responded, looking over at the pair.

"You zoned out over there, I was trying to tell you I found another convoy about 3 klicks down the road at out three o'clock." Hiccup looked in that direction and sure enough, there was a SCUD Launcher sandwiched between a BTR-60 and an M35 2½-ton cargo truck knockoff.

"Plan of attack is you take out that BTR and I'll tag the Scud then we get the truck together," Ragnar said before shifting right so they were not so close together. Hiccup found himself caught up in everything, he remembered what their mission was and that this was their last patrol before going back home.

"Copy that," He replied and shifted left and prepared to attack the Iraqi SCUD convoy. They both got lined up on their targets and began their approach; the high pitched shrill that the Night Fury makes when it powers up a shot started to ring out across the desert sky.

The Iraqis heard the noise and started to react to it, their eyes and guns pointed up towards the sky in preparation for the attack. They started to scan the sky, looking for the two boys and their Night Furys. They wouldn't have the chance to fire a shot as Toothless and Wraith let their plasma shots go and instantly pulled up. Those plasma shots flew straight and true and hit their intended targets. Toothless's plasma blast hit the BTR first, punching clean through the upper plate, right through the driver's hatch where the Fury had aimed it. The drivers head was instantly vaporizing and the plasma blast kept going through the vehicle, severely burning everybody inside the armored vehicle before it came into contact with the engine and fuel tank, blowing the vehicle to Valhalla.

Wraiths shot hit the SCUD just as Toothless's shot was vaporizing the driver's head. Like Toothless's, Wraiths shot hit the fuel tank of the SCUD missile, causing it to ignite and create a chain reaction which blew up the high explosive warhead, destroying the SCUD launcher and mangling the front of the following truck.

As the two meet back up in the sky to go after the truck, the canvas covering over the back fell away to reveal something they were not expecting.

"Shit, it's a ZU 23! Break left, break left!" Ragnar shouted at Hiccup and the two broke away in different directions as the ZU-23-2 that was hidden in the back of the truck opened up and tracers lit up the night sky. Hiccup looked over at where he knew Ragnar and Wraith would be, only to see the whitish-red streak of light that was the 23 mm tracer round intersect with that point. An ear-shattering screech echoed through the sky followed by a very faint cheer from the Iraqi ground crew.

" **Wraith**! Ragnar!" The two shouted as they flew as fast as they could to where a plume of dust had been kicked up by the crash landing of the pair. Once they did, more 23mm tracer ammo started flying above their head, but they had landed behind a sand berm which was shielding them from the onslaught.

"Ragnar, talk to me!" Hiccup shouted as he made his way over to the downed pair. A helmeted head poked out from behind the sideways dragon.

"I'm right here, only a few bruises. Shit, how is Wraith?" came the response.

" **Oh you know, not every day it feels like somebody fucking jabs you in the chest with a white-hot fire poker!** " Wraith venomously shouted at them as they moved to patch him up. " **When I get my claws on that fucking gunner I'll...** " Wraith started before roaring out in pain as they boys bandaged the graze.

"We got lucky it only grazed your side and didn't hit you square in the chest." Hiccup said as they finished.

" **We can talk about that later, once we take care of those troops,** " Toothless said as a round flew dangerously close to his head, causing him to move closer to Wraith.

"Right," both Hiccup and Ragnar said before moving to the edge of the berm to see what they were facing. Just as they got there the ZU-23-2 stopped firing and six Iraqi soldiers came charging over the crest, shouting battle cries and firing with their AK-47's. The boys didn't have any time to react to the sudden threat except pull the trigger on their weapons. Three of the six Iraqis fell dead, two with bullet holes and one with a plasma burn. The other three kept coming, however, one heading for Hiccup with two heading for Ragnar.

"Fuck, Fuck, FUCK!" Hiccup shouted as the man who was charging him went to stab him with a bayonet attached to the end of his AK-47. Hiccup lept to the right, causing the man to miss and stumble past him. Just as the Iraqi was recovering, he turned to see Hiccup leveling his sidearm at the man and then the flash of the gun firing before nothing.

Hiccup turned around to see Ragnar in a fight with one of the Iraqis over a rather large dagger and the other was out of sight. Hiccup shot the man fighting with Ragnar just as two more appeared over the berm and the last of the original attackers appeared behind Ragnar.

"Ragnar, behind you!" Hiccup shouted as he raised his M9 to fire on the two newcomers. The next few seconds happened in slow motion it seemed as Hiccup pulled the trigger and Ragnar spun around. The gun crew was slightly staggered to Hiccup which allowed him to shoot both with very little adjustment to his aim. When he looked back over at where Ragnar was, all he could see was the Iraqi soldier that had been behind him bending over and seemed to be trying to pull his rifle out of something. As Hiccup got closer he could see it was Ragnar's chest.

"Ragnar?" Hiccup croaked out, causing the man to look over and lift his rifle to fire at Hiccup, but with a pistol, Hiccup was faster on the draw.

"Ragnar?!" Hiccup shouted as he rushed over to where he had last seen his brother. Upon getting there he stopped and dropped to his knees, pistol falling from his hands as he was frozen with grief over what he was looking at.

"Useless finally managed to get somebody killed, it's a miracle it didn't happen sooner." The voice of Snotlout came floating in out of nowhere as Hiccup cradled the limp body of Ragnar in his arms.

"Look at him, how weak he is. Crying on the field of battle, how pathetic." Astrid's voice came raining down on him as he started to cry for his brother.

"Leave me alone!" Hiccup shouted as he looked up from Ragnar to see all the gang and his Father standing above him.

"You have disappointed me, son. You let your partner die in battle, no true Viking would leave his partner in battle. You are not a Viking, you are not my Son." Stoick said before turning around and leaving.

"Toothless!" Hiccup cried out as he tried to stand up and get away from his tormentors and to his dragon.

"Oh, you mean the Night Fury?" Snotlout sneered at his cousin. "That Beast will be my new mount. Night Fury, come here now." As if on cue Toothless appeared but instead of going to Hiccup he went to Snotlout, sitting beside him like a dog beside its master.

"See Hiccup, how little you understand these Beasts when compared to us," Fishlegs spoke up. Hiccup, his emotions like a giant mixing pot, grabbed his pistol which had fallen nearby and tried to shoot them out of anger. Except his gun jammed after the first shot.

"Look, another invention of his that failed right when he needed it! You are are a worthless excuse for a person Useless, and you knew it just as much as I do." Snotlout said, pushing Hiccup down to the ground. When Hiccup looked back up they were back on Berk, he was near one of the cliff edges and was standing before the entire village.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. You stand here before the village charged with cowardliness, colluding with the enemy, and desertion of Berk. We find you guilty on all counts and sentence you to death." He heard Stoick say before Astrid blocked out his view.

"Disgusting, and to think I used to admire you." She said before kicking him off the cliff and into the ocean spray and rocks below.

* * *

 **So ya, here is this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. I don't really have much to say here. Love it, hate it, leave a review with your opinion. NarniaQueen and I love to read them! Speaking of which, guest review time!**

 **Guest: well ya, nobody is disagreeing with you there. As Fanfiction writers all we can do is get as close as possible but can never be 100% due to not being the writers of the film/shows. The point of calling her Astrid is because she is Astrid. This is not an original story by me with characters I created. The characters are Dreamworks and they have names so I use those names. That is the point of calling Astrid Astrid because she is still Astrid.**

 **Uhm, ya. Just the one. So thank you for the follow/favorite to MartyF805, Pastel dumpster, TheRealIgneel, ThisIsAmazing, NightFuryQueen94, Diamondknifer, RedHawkdude, Yaoijapan24, JW52242, DisDuderino, and midnightwold32. Y'all keep us writing so keep it up guys and girls!**

 **Oh, and for those of you who read "For The Deaf And The Telepath", my beta for that story will get to it tomorrow and that means I should have it up either tomorrow or the day after.**

 **Semper Fi,**

 **Thearizona**


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